Digimon Reboot
by bluster-squall
Summary: Fanseries AU. One thousand digital years ago, the Digital World was ravaged by a terrible war. The gods, those who were once guardians of the World, were locked in a battle against a parasitic evil which threatened to engulf everything in its path. As a last resort, the gods sacrificed themselves to create one final, massive blow against the plague.
1. Episode One: Hectic Eletrics

_One thousand digital years ago, the Digital World was ravaged by a terrible war. The gods, those who were once guardians of the World, were locked in a battle against a parasitic evil which threatened to engulf everything in its path. As a last resort, the gods sacrificed themselves to create one final, massive blow against the plague._

_The titanic explosion had a devastating side effect: the Digital World was rebooted._

_What none of them expected was that the parasite had shielded itself just enough for a small part to survive the cataclysm. It recovered, and swiftly grew to rule the renewed World. With the gods left as less than memories, it made its thousand-year progress unhindered._

_Twenty human years later, the parasite has begun to burrow into the real world.  
_

* * *

The day always seemed to start like this, with the alarm blaring from the bedside table at six thirty on the dot. A lone hand and wrist would struggle out from under the covers, turning the irritating noise to snooze, and the bulk that the hand belonged to would roll away from it, snuggling into the warmth of her bedfellow. He, of course, wouldn't complain; he was as bad as she was when it came to mornings.

Uncimon found humans strange in that sense. As soon as the alarm went off the first time, he was awake, finding it too difficult and troublesome to get back to sleep. Often he was up minutes before the alarm, his body programmed to its timing. He would sit in his makeshift bed, warm and cozy in the blanket he had, and wait for Eva to finally crawl out from under the covers, after about the third blast from the alarm clock.

Today was no different. She, the plum haired girl, left the warmth of the bed she shared with Tom and slowly wandered through the small living area to the bathroom, where she brushed her teeth and washed her face. She sat down to breakfast next: cereal and tea with the morning newspaper, and bread burning in the toaster for Tom. Always, Uncimon hopped around from his bed to the table and joined Eva as she sleepily read the paper. She poured him a bowl of Corn Flakes, as she did every morning, and lightly stroked his spotted grey fur until she needed to turn the page. Corvimon joined them after a short while and eventually, so did Tom.

Tom was blond, an inch shorter than Eva, with a stubbly chin. Uncimon couldn't see the attraction, but Eva liked him. He was alright – for a human – though Uncimon would never admit that to him or to Eva. Plus it was nice being able to be out in the open and not hidden away. Tom had Corvimon, a Digimon like Uncimon, so there was no secrecy. In the same way, there had been no secrecy between Eva and her family when it came to the phenomenon of Digimon and how Uncimon existed. They just accepted it. It was part of normal life for them. For other people though – not so much. This was why Uncimon was forced to travel in Eva's purse wherever she went.

So that morning, nothing was different. Everything was as it always was, from the clock, to the cereal and the discussions at the table. Tom and Eva often talked about what needed buying when the appointed shopper went to the local market. They were making a verbal list. It was Tom's turn. Uncimon had no doubt that he would forget everything and come back with the non-necessaries. Corvimon was pecking at her small plate of cornflakes, and watching the shine from Eva's spoon as if hypnotized. Uncimon was on his third bowl.

But things _felt_ different. The moment he had awakened, Uncimon had felt as if he were charged with energy. Like any moment he might bounce from one spot to the other and hit the ceiling because of how energetic he felt. The feeling was one he did not recall, and while he was excited by it, it unnerved him somewhat. Anything new and unexplained took some getting used to. When Eva and Tom bought new furniture for the apartment they shared, both Uncimon and Corvimon would take some time to get accustomed to it. Uncimon wriggled on the table, feeling as though a shock of electricity had shuddered over his round body, making his fur stand up on end.

Then things happened all at once. Tom pushed his chair out to put his dirty dishes in the sink. At the same time, the door from the microwave pinged open on its own, slamming back against the wall with enough force to send it slamming shut. Corvimon leapt up off the table, shocked and surprised by the sudden noise, and Uncimon was immediately growling at the microwave. Corvimon yelped as she hit the floor and tried to flap her ear-wings in a futile attempt to decrease the speed she fell at. She bounced twice on the floor and stayed where she eventually landed: on her side, tiny grey feet wriggling in the air.

"What the hell happened there?" Eva was stroking Uncimon's head, trying to calm him down from the surprise of the microwave door. Tom had picked up Corvimon, who continued to wiggle in his hands. He dusted her feathers off carefully, examining her for any damage.

"You look okay. Just a bit of a surprise." Tom was smiling a bit, and he placed Corvimon carefully on his shoulder while he went to the microwave. On closer inspection, the machine appeared to have reset itself. The digital clock it usually showed was now flashing 00:00 in bright green light. "Weird," Tom commented. He scratched his chin.

"Power surge?" Eva suggested. Uncimon had calmed down significantly, but still had his bright eyes on the microwave, staring at it with distrust.

"Maybe." Tom shrugged. Corvimon hopped from his shoulder onto the top of the microwave and kicked it with her tiny foot. She then continued on her way, wandering over the countertop to the oven, also equipped with a digital clock.

"This one too," she pointed out, and Tom came to investigate, followed by Eva. They checked all the other electrical appliances they owned. Their internet router had reset itself, as had the DVD player, VCR, and all electronic clocks.

"One hell of a power surge," Eva commented. She checked the only analog clock in the house, a small bedside clock that had been a gift from her mother. "Aw no, I'm going to be late!" Immediately Uncimon found himself on the messy duvet on their bed as Eva raced around searching for clean clothes. Corvimon joined Uncimon moments later as Tom sauntered to the bathroom to have a shower.

Eva scurried around finding clothes, muttering to herself. Knowing she was distracted, Uncimon turned to Corvimon, who was making a makeshift nest for herself in amongst the bed sheets. He shuffled over the covers and settled on the softness.

"That was no power surge," Uncimon commented. He was sure of it, and also sure that Corvimon knew it too. She regarded him, her green eyes bright and interested. "I mean – it looked like it was, but I don't think it was."

Corvimon snuggled down into the covers. "What do you think it was then?" she asked.

"Something different. Powerful," Uncimon said, his words coming in a rush. He felt excited. "It was different! We've seen and experienced power cuts before, that was nothing like a power cut, or a power surge. Didn't you wake up today feeling weird?"

"Weird…?" Corvimon repeated. If she'd had eyebrows, she would have quirked one and stared at the fluffy Digimon quizzically.

"Yeah. Weird. Wired. Excited. Energetic. Different!"

Corvimon was silent and thoughtful for a few moments, while Uncimon stared at her expectantly, his light blue eyes wide and watering as he kept himself from blinking. Eventually Corvimon made a motion, like a nod. "Now that you mention it, I thought it was just static electricity or something."

Uncimon's mouth spread into a large grin. "I'm telling you, something is going to happen today! Or soon!"

"Like what?" Now Corvimon was excited, and she edged closer to her friend.

"I don't know," Uncimon admitted, though his tone lost none of his excitement. "But something!"

At that moment, Eva completed her ensemble: beige trousers and sneakers, with a striped rose and fuchsia dress. Over that, a grey hooded sweater. To keep her hair back she had wrapped a black band around it. She was pulling on her purse as Tom came out of the shower, rubbing his hair with a towel. She hoisted Uncimon off the bed and held him over her open purse. Uncimon made a face, but hopped from her hand and into the purse none-the-less. He shuffled around in it to make himself comfortable in the confined space.

"I'm meeting Frankie after work," Eva was telling Tom while he tidied where the girl had strewn clothes in her search for clean ones. "Girly catch-up. Probably won't be back late."

"Okay," Tom confirmed. He dried his hair vigorously and then dropped the towel on the bed. "I'll get the groceries. Have a good day."

"Will do!" Eva was out of the door a moment later.

* * *

"Almost quittin' time," James Parker muttered to himself, glancing over plans of the new house that the construction company he worked for was currently building. It was going to be a piece of artwork more than a home. Owned by a fat-cat who had recently moved into the city, it was going to be floor-to-ceiling windows letting in as much light as possible, a basement, and then three floors over a three hundred meter square space. The backyard was going to have a pool and a pond – probably filled with Koi Carp – and around the house, yard, and drive, there was to be a large imposing wrought iron fence erected.

James checked his watch and carefully wiped the sweat off his brow, brushing his russet hair from his eyes as he did so. He'd been working since eight that morning; it was now nearly five o'clock. The day had been sweltering, and now – despite it being the evening – it was still uncomfortably warm, but he still kept his hooded jacket on. After finishing here, he would have three hours to shower and eat before getting to his evening job at the eatery, where he waited tables.

"Parker – these screws ain't going to screw themselves in!" The call came from the foreman and James quietly rolled his eyes to himself.

"Coming!" He knew better than to complain with Mr. Winch – he'd be forced to stay late without pay if he didn't get what Mr. Winch ordered done on time. He crossed to the pillars of steel that would eventually make up the wall corners and foundations of the house when it was completed, slipped his safety glasses over his eyes, and started working silently and diligently. Mr. Winch, satisfied, walked away to the foreman's van.

James worked quietly for a few minutes, until the weight in the hood of his jacket started to move. "I could go and hit him in the bum with my antlers, y'know?" It was a quiet female voice, indignant and annoyed, talking almost directly into James' ear. He resisted the temptation to laugh.

"What antlers?" he replied to the voice, setting another screw and switching on the drill.

"My antlers." As if to answer the question, the being that the voice belonged to lightly butted James in the back, and he felt a sharp point dig into his skin.

"That's a horn, Fallomon, not antlers," James explained gently. Fallomon did not reply this time. Instead, she started sulking in his hood and ignored any surreptitious attempts James made to talk to her. Eventually he gave up.

As it turned out, James was able to get away from the construction site at just after five – a good time for once. Normally he had to stay at least half an hour to finish jobs Mr. Winch wanted completed. He was also relieved, as tomorrow was his day off from both his jobs and he could relax for a short while. He crossed the parking lot to his old truck and slid into the driver's seat, depositing his jacket on the passenger side. After starting the engine, the jacket started to move and shuffle on the seat. James rolled down the passenger seat window as a ball of brown fur emerged, eyeing the interior of the truck with wary eyes.

This was Fallomon, James' best friend and companion since he had been a baby.

"It's safe," he assured her, reaching across and lightly scratching her behind one of her large ears. She grinned and showed off the pink markings beneath her eyes, relaxed by his touch. James pulled out of his parking space smoothly and started the short journey home. "I'm working tonight, so you'll have to amuse yourself," he told her.

"Yeah, I know," Fallomon replied. She sounded disappointed. "I can play with Marie." Marie was James' four year old sister.

"Hmm." James went silent and stared out of the windshield at the traffic lights he was stopped at. Two girls were walking past in front of the car, laughing. One was wearing a grey hooded sweater, her hair pulled back with a black bandana. The other was quite striking, with short black hair, a single section of it bleached blonde. She was tan, wearing large hoop earrings, and an orange and red striped dress. Fallomon hopped up onto the dashboard and followed the two girls with her eyes. She glanced back at James, who was still staring at them both.

"You can do better," Fallomon commented, with a superior air. "Besides, why would you need a girlfriend when you have me?"

James snorted to himself. "Oh, there are plenty of reasons." He shrugged and put the car into gear. Fallomon hopped back onto the passenger seat. "I'm not looking anyway. Not like I'd have time between the jobs and family…" He trailed off, turning into the road that led to the cul-de-sac where his house was situated. Fallomon frowned and stayed quiet. She would never say it, but James worked too hard. He was twenty-one and didn't seem to have a life outside of work, his younger siblings, and his dad. As little as Fallomon knew of humans aside from James and his family, she knew that work was not supposed to take over your life at twenty-one. But that was James; all work and no play was how he liked it.

The truck pulled to a smooth stop on the street outside of James' home, a two-story detached house with a well kept front yard and a large back yard. It was smaller inside than it looked, but it was home. James picked up Fallomon from her seat as he disembarked the car and carried her against his stomach, holding his tool belt and jacket in his other hand. After unlocking the door he was greeted by a high pitched scream coming from his little sister's bedroom. Within seconds James had dropped his belongings and was in the threshold of Marie's room, Fallomon a foot in front of him. Marie was staring at the television screen in front of her; the screen was flickering wildly. The remote control was clasped in small hands and she looked on the verge of tears.

"It broke!" she wailed, throwing the controller and pointing at the screen. "It broke! It broke! It broke!"

James sighed to himself, relieved that it was nothing more serious. He crossed the room to comfort his four-year-old sister. Fallomon followed behind him, bouncing across the carpet, though she stopped and stared at the clock on the video recorder as it now flickered with an 'ERR' in luminous numbers. She shuddered to herself, as if there had been a sudden breeze, when there was no wind to provide one. She thought it odd, but more wailing from Marie distracted her from her thoughts. She continued towards the crying child, offering herself up to be hugged by the girl.

* * *

"I can't stand this heat," Frankie complained, fanning herself with a napkin.

She and Eva were in a booth at the local Excellent Bean, a coffee shop and popular hangout for the students of the local college where Frankie studied. Eva studied also, but as most of her courses were online, she wasn't required to be in class as much. In fact, she had only one class that required attendance at the school, which took place once a week. The rest of the time was spent at home, learning, so she filled up her remaining hours working at the bakery a few doors down from Excellent Bean. It was Friday, the day of Eva's one and only on-campus class, and it had become a ritual for her and Frankie to meet up when their respective classes came to a close and catch up.

Normally Frankie didn't mind the summer heat – it gave her a chance to scope out the local eye candy at building sites and around campus – but this heat was stifling. It wasn't a comfortable heat, with wind or even a tiny breeze; there was nothing to relieve it. Being in the shade didn't help.

In front of her, Frankie had an iced frappuccino, which she drank through a straw. Eva was still waiting for her drink – it seemed the baristas were ill-equipped to handle high demand. Frankie glanced quickly around the café before she plugged the top of the straw with her thumb, removed it from the drink, and appeared to inject it into her purse. Her purse wriggled beside her and there was a low grumbling sound. Frankie felt suction on the opposing end of the straw and removed her thumb until the contents of the straw were gone. She replaced the straw back in the plastic mug just as Eva sat down with her drink opposite her.

"Lame," Eva commented. "They had to make my drink twice. New barista messed it up the first time."

"Well – if you didn't have a complicated iced frappuccino…," Frankie commented with a grin. She took a long drink from her straw and stirred the cold mixture before her. "I hate how hot it is." Frankie fanned herself for effect.

Eva looked her at slyly. "Push off. You love it really. You like the attention you get from the guys when you sashay around."

Frankie tried to come up with a convincing argument, but Eva had a point. She did like to make the boys pant like puppies when it was warm like this. Her current attire was quite modest for her. Tonight, though, her outfit would change. It was Friday, so she would be out at one of the local clubs, having a good time. She didn't know which one she would go to at the moment; there were plenty to pick from and she could decide while she changed later. "I might like the attention, but that doesn't mean I like this heat," Frankie eventually answered. Eva shrugged a shoulder and took a swallow from her drink.

"Did I tell you about the freaky thing that happened this morning?" Eva asked suddenly. Frankie shook her head but leaned forward on the table, showing her intrigue. "We had this weird power surge at the apartment. All the digital and electronic stuff started going haywire. Reset itself and everything. Same thing happened at the bakery: the tills started overcharging people and the lights blew in the staff room this morning. It was weird."

"Maybe you're cursed," Frankie teased, knowing Eva's superstitious nature well, and that the mention of the curse would have the plum haired girl a little on edge for the rest of the day. Eva scowled at her.

"Don't mention curses," she hissed, then took another begrudging slurp of her drink.

Frankie laughed. "I doubt it's just you. It's probably the heat messing with the electrics or something. One of my lectures got cancelled 'cause the equipment broke down in the middle of this other girl's presentation. Piper…something. She was really embarrassed. Not like it was her fault though." She shrugged. "Not to mention the refrigerators in the cafeteria all broke down at the same time, so there was no fresh food, only processed crap." Frankie pursed her lips, crossing her legs under the table.

"This heat has a lot to answer for," Eva confirmed with a steady nod of her head. Both girls turned their attention to their drinks, at the same moment someone hot and bothered started to explode at the trainee barista.

"I'm sorry – the cash register says that's how much your order is, there must be a malfunction!"

"Too bloody right there's a malfunction! I am not paying thirteen hundred dollars for an espresso, a paper, and a panini! Now get your manager or I'm complaining about this to Trading Standards!" The customer was red in the face, indignant and overheated. The entire coffee shop had quieted considerably as his voice rose. The trainee looked terrified as she nodded feebly and ran off to find her manager. Frankie exchanged a look with two bright yellow eyes that peered at her from the gloom of her purse.

_Right. The heat._

By the time Eva and Frankie went their separate ways, it was nearly seven in the evening. The sun was slowly beginning to settle, and thankfully, the temperature was beginning to dip. Frankie stared into the sky going from bright blue to gold. It was a short walk from Excellent Bean to Frankie's comfortable studio apartment, where she lived alone. She liked her space. As she walked in she removed her shoes, placed her bag down carefully on the hallway floor, and padded through into the living area, where she unlocked and opened a couple of windows wide. From her bag, a ball of off-white fur with dark stripes, a long tail, and yellow eyes shuffled out and bounced towards her, stopping on a cushion always kept on the floor for him.

"We need to put air vents in your bag or somethin'," he stated, looking at Frankie, who was flicking boredly through television channels. She didn't expect to get to her chosen club until around nine o'clock, so she had some time to kill. "I mean, I nearly _died_ in there!" he added, over-dramatically flopping onto the plush cushion beneath him. Frankie couldn't help but smile at the creature's comment and his personality, and placated him with an affectionate pat on his body.

"Could have been worse, Tigrimon," she commented. The TV volume was turned right down on an R'n'B music video channel. "At least the AC was on in the lecture theatre."

Tigrimon huffed at her, his tail flicking idly behind him as he observed the screen without regarding the pictures flashing in front of him. Frankie, used to Tigrimon's short-lived moods, got up from the sofa and went to the kitchenette – she needed coffee and food. If she planned to drink, she didn't want to get drunk quickly; she needed something to line her stomach with. She deliberated what to eat as the kettle warmed and bubbled on its stand, the sounds of the music in the background barely registering to her. She was still somewhat focused on the mishap that had occurred in Excellent Bean.

"Was weird," she stated to herself.

"What was?" Tigrimon asked, his mood changed. He was now sitting on the countertop, yellow eyes watching Frankie carefully.

Frankie poured hot water into a mug. "The cash register freaking out like that earlier…and the stuff in class today, and the power surge Eva said happened at her apartment. I dunno – it all seems a bit weird to me." She shrugged one shoulder, pursing her lips with a raised eyebrow and blowing the steam away from her mug. "You make anything of it?" Frankie looked at Tigrimon, who remained thoughtful for a few moments.

"Not really. Though I did notice something – Eva smells."

Frankie laughed out loud and had to put her coffee down on the counter as she recovered. "Why do you say that?" she inquired through chuckles.

Tigrimon shuffled along the counter. "I mean, all humans have their own smell: you, Eva, your teacher. But, I don't know, there was something weird about Eva's smell today. I hadn't noticed it before – there was something…familiar."

"Well yeah, you've been around Eva tons before."

"No, no!" argued Tigrimon. "The smell was different, not Eva's smell. But to me it was familiar." Frankie noticed he was frowning, as if trying to get his own head around this confusing scent dilemma he found himself in. She smiled a little and gave the ball of fur a pat on the head.

"Maybe the heat is getting to you, hun." Frankie leaned her elbows down on the counter so she was almost eye level with the grey, striped ball. "Can Digimon get hallucinations?" She smiled.

Tigrimon frowned; he did not appreciate being teased.

* * *

Uncimon was finding it hard to settle comfortably in Eva's lap, as she sat and watched TV on the couch with Tom and Corvimon. Not that there was much on – Tom was flicking channels boredly, while Eva attempted to stave off her tiredness with more tea. Normally, Uncimon knew he would be looking the same way Corvimon did, her eyes unable to stay open, dozing on Tom's shoulder. But he still felt so wired from the morning. The feeling had been with him all day, and he had felt nervous with anticipation, waiting for something to happen. He knew _something_ was going to happen, it had to. He just didn't know what, or when.

Eva reached over him to the coffee table to pick up her half-empty mug. Uncimon watched her drink from it before averting his eyes back to the television. The channel flickering was bothering him; he didn't know why it was hard to settle on one program. Tom changed from a wildlife documentary to the news and on to a cooking program. It was as the screen changed to the news that Uncimon felt what he could only describe as an electric shock ripple over his body. He shuddered violently, Eva noticed immediately.

"What's wrong?" Her tone was instantly on edge, she had a hand on Uncimon's furry head.

"I…don't know," Uncimon muttered. "Quick! Turn back to the news!"

Tom did as Uncimon requested, flicking to the twenty four hour news channel. On the screen were pictures of apparently random household items dropping out of the sky, crushing cars, garages, and narrowly missing people walking on the street. The news reporter was speaking over the pictures:

"_There seems to be no explanation for the bizarre occurrences Downtown, where all manner of objects have been dropping from seemingly nowhere since this morning. Authorities have advised all neighbors in the area to stay in their homes and not to drive their cars, or leave for their own safety…"_ The screen flashed to a policeman giving an interview from earlier than day.

"What, that?" Tom's expression was puzzled, Eva's mimicked it.

"What do you suppose is doing that?" Eva asked rhetorically, not expecting a reply from anyone in the room.

"Digimon," Uncimon said firmly. There was no hint of jokiness in his voice, no mirth, only total seriousness. "I knew something was going to happen! Digimon! There are more Digimon!" He bounced on Eva's lap and turned around so he was facing her while mid-air. "We have to go there, now!"

"Us?" Eva replied. She sounded aghast. Uncimon hopped off her lap and started bounding to the door. "Uncimon, wait!" Eva chased him. "Wait! You don't know it's Digimon!"

"I do!" Uncimon argued. He was bouncing below the door handle, trying to reach for it with his mouth and being unsuccessful. "I know it's Digimon! Eva, come on! Someone could get hurt! We have to stop the Digimon!"

Eva stared at Uncimon worriedly. They had been together in one form or another since she was born, but she had never seen him act this way, so insistent and determined about something. She felt it would be wrong of her to doubt him. She looked towards Tom, who was on his feet, a sleeping Corvimon in his arms.

"Keep your phone on. You should check it out, just to be on the safe side," Tom advised. "If only to humor him," he added under his breath.

"Alright." Eva grabbed her sweater from the back of the couch, checked to make sure her phone was in her pocket, and took her keys in her hand. She pulled open the door and followed Uncimon out, running to keep up with his long bounds.

* * *

Frankie internally cursed her footwear; stiletto heels were not good shoes for running in, especially when the running involved chasing an apparently crazed ball of fur that was following a 'hunch'. Thankfully, he had decided to follow this hunch before she had stripped down for her shower, so she was at least thankful she hadn't needed to do a 'Bridget Jones' and run through the streets in an over-sized shirt and underwear.

Still – this wasn't how she wanted to spend her evening. She should have been in a club about now, but instead she was trying to keep her eyes trained on Tigrimon, who was yards in front of her, bouncing away through the city like his life depended on it.

"Tigrimon, wait up!" Frankie yelled. She had a stitch from where she couldn't breathe properly. Tigrimon turned a corner suddenly. Frankie heard a sound of something hitting metal; her breath caught and she put in an extra burst of speed. She saw a dent in the top of a trash can, Tigrimon on the other side of a fence. "Wait for me!" Frankie shouted again. She surveyed the fence: climbing up was no problem, but climbing down the other side was another matter. The fence didn't look sturdy at all, and there was nothing to use as a support to climb with.

Resigned to the fact she would have to go a long way, Frankie walked quickly out of the side alley, onto the main street, and carried on the way she hoped Tigrimon was going, trying not to bump into people walking in the opposite direction.

It had started when he'd seen a report on the news about something happening Downtown. Frankie had assumed it was something gang-related, but it had been weirder than that: some air force was dropping furniture and other items from hidden aircrafts – at least, that was what the news reporter had believed. He hadn't been wrong.

As Frankie ran through Downtown in pursuit of Tigrimon, she had noticed random objects littering the street: a car crushed underneath a refrigerator; a bathtub upside-down in a tree; a table and a pair of chairs shattered on the roadside. It was more than weird. It was plain 'Twilight Zone' strange. She would never have believed it if she hadn't seen it in person.

She chewed her lip anxiously. "Tigrimon, where are you?" she muttered to herself. It was rare for Tigrimon to run off without her; normally he was over-protective to the extreme.

In her purse, Frankie heard her phone ringing and retrieved it after fishing around in the darkness of the bag for a moment. Her phone now appeared to be malfunctioning, as there was no in-coming call on the screen. Frankie sighed. She tapped buttons as she walked quickly, to no avail, the ringing would not stop. Eventually, frustrated, she pulled the back off her phone, and took out the battery. The ringing stopped. As she replaced the battery, the phone sprang to life immediately and shifted in her hand until she released it. Her phone was emitting an orange glow from its screen, and it appeared to be transforming right in front of her.

It was a simple flip phone, black in color and small. Now it grew in length and the two layers that made up the phone broke apart to go beneath each other. Keys appeared on the lower layer, which turned a darker grey, then black. On the top layer the small screen engulfed the entire layout and the black color changed to orange. The corners rounded, and as the new phone dropped into Frankie's hand, she could see orange radar on the screen, and the shape of Tigrimon in the top left-hand side.

Frankie felt the weight of what she no longer recognized as her phone and shifted it. "Ohhh…kayyy…" She looked around, hoping no one else had witnessed the strange event. "What…in the world?" Suddenly, the new device in her hands began to bleep, showing on the radar spots of color in purple and pink, along with a constant orange spot. She assumed the orange dot was Tigrimon, and started the way she was going originally, aiming to get closer to him.

The other dots on the radar moved too. The pink one, now split into two, was nearing Frankie at an alarming rate. She wasn't sure whether to panic or not, to hide, or to carry on as normal and shove the handheld item in her pocket. The answer was given to her when she heard footsteps. She shoved her new phone in her pocket.

"Uncimon, stop! Enough!" Frankie recognized the voice as Eva's, she ran to where she was coming from and found Eva heaving, slumped over her knees, on the floor in front of her a ball of grey fur.

"Tigrimon! You scared the crap out of me!" Frankie yelled, she stalked towards Eva and the grey fur ball. She noticed as it stared at her that it had blue eyes and a large grey spot. "Oh."

"Oh crap," Eva hissed under her breath. Uncimon fled behind her leg as if to hide, despite already being seen. "Uh – Frankie, I can explain! Ha-ha!" Eva started, rather breathless and uneasy. "See uhm – well this…he…this is all a dream!" Eva waved her arms. Frankie stood on one hip, folding her arms with her signature raised brow. "Or… not."

"Yeah, no," Frankie said. "You have a Digimon too?" She was looking directly at Uncimon, who was beginning to edge out from behind Eva's leg.

"Yea- wait, what do you mean 'too'? You have one!?"

Frankie nodded. "Yeah. I thought yours was mine, they look really similar. Only well…Tigrimon has stripes and yellow eyes."

"Oh." Eva scooped up Uncimon. "Sorry, this is Uncimon."

"Nice to meet you properly," Uncimon said quickly. "Now can we continue moving?"

"Wait! Have you seen Tigrimon?" Frankie asked, rushed. She hoped they had. She was worried. "I think he's around here somewhere, I think this is him on this thingy." She fished the orange item from her pocket and showed it to Eva, tapping where the orange blip was.

"Oh, I have one of those!" Eva took her own from her purse, pink this time, and showed it to Frankie. "Must be Tigrimon. I wondered who the orange dot was!" Eva grinned.

"If I may interrupt," Uncimon spoke, "if he came here, I imagine he's here for the same reason I dragged Eva here. There are other Digimon! If we keep going, we'll find them and Tigrimon!"

"Good idea." Frankie nodded as Eva set Uncimon down on the ground. He bounced off and the girls followed, running in tandem. Frankie turned to Eva quickly. "A dream? Really?"

* * *

"Starlight Sphere!" A ball of pink light shot out from behind one of the dumpsters littering the street. Fallomon remained in her hiding place with James, crouched behind the object. James had followed Fallomon as she had run off as he was leaving for work that evening. He'd managed to call in late; he would make up the hours. But now he was concerned with Fallomon, her recklessness, and that she was vastly outsized by two much larger, meaner Digimon than her.

That was why she had left the house. She had sensed Digimon nearby and become unruly, almost frenzied, and determined to get out of the house in any way possible. James had been leaving for work, in time to see her hopping down the road at an alarming speed, and followed.

When Fallomon had reached her destination, James a minute behind her, they had been confronted by what James only could describe as giant cockroaches. Digimon, Fallomon had informed him, called Roachmon, who were brothers and who were responsible for the debris falling from the sky. Debris they focused on trying to squash James and Fallomon with, when they had intervened. Now they were hiding behind a dumpster, and James was internally cursing Fallomon for getting him into this mess.

As far as Digimon went, Fallomon was the only one James had ever met, and he wasn't much enjoying his second meeting. Roachmon were, as the name expressed, huge cockroaches standing on two legs with unkempt teeth, four arms, and as it appeared, a nasty temperament.

"Will you stop firing at them?" James hissed at Fallomon, who was peeking out from behind the dumpster. She kept trying to attack, but her range wasn't big enough. So try as she might, her pink spheres of light dispersed in the air before they got anywhere near the brother insect Digimon.

"No, I can't. I have to get rid of them!" Fallomon argued.

"You're too little."

Fallomon growled. "Says you." She bounced out from behind the dumpster she and James hid behind, bounding with fearless abandon towards the nearest Roachmon, a pink orb of light manifesting itself at the tip of her tiny horn.

"Starlight Sphere!" The ball expelled off her horn as she bounced, this time in range. It latched onto the elbow of one of the Roachmon as they turned, hearing her cry. There was a yelp of pain as the pink light began to burn and singe.

Momentarily distracted by her minor achievement, Fallomon was unaware of the second Roachmon running towards her. James dashed out from behind the dumpster and hoisted Fallomon in his arms, taking the full force of the giant cockroach's attack.

"Roachmon Flyswatter!" Roachmon's large leg hit James full in the ribs, sending him flying to the ground some feet away. James automatically cradled himself around Fallomon.

"HEY!" The Roachmon turned as a new voice made itself known. "Pick on someone your own size!" James vaguely saw a grey shape with a long tail rushing towards the Roachmon in long bounces. "Windball!" The ball of grey was suddenly a blur, breezing past James' body, ricocheting into the Roachmon like a whirling pinball.

"Tigrimon!" Another voice, this time female. James was struggling to his feet. Fallomon's eyes opened slightly.

"You saved me," Fallomon said, glassy eyes staring at James. He smiled lopsidedly.

"Of course."

"You okay?" Two girls had come to James now, one with plum hair, the other with black hair and a blonde streak. James recognized them both from earlier that day, but found himself unable to speak for now, only nodding. "Good." The plum haired girl was speaking to him.

"Tigrimon!"

"Wait, Frankie!"

"Eva, wait for me!" Another grey ball followed the girls.

"More Digimon?" James looked at Fallomon. She looked as surprised as he did.

"Yes."

The two girls had stopped a safe distance from the Roachmon, though Uncimon had continued forward, intent on entering the fray. Fallomon, too, once she had wriggled free of James' arms. The Roachmon easily batted the three small Digimon aside as they each attacked in turn, leaping at the large insects in an attempt to cause harm. Each one, knocked one way and another, recovered slowly on the ground while the Roachmon advanced on Frankie, Eva, and James.

"Oh…snap," Frankie muttered. She backed up a little.

"Now what do we do?" Eva hissed. She was trying to fumble with what had been her phone to call Tom, but it was all new and she was unable to find the correct settings and buttons as her hands shook.

"I'm not leaving Fallomon," James muttered. The Roachmon were still advancing, steadily getting closer in synchronized steps, both sneering with matching grotesque expressions.

"Run," Uncimon growled from where he was struggling to right himself.

Tigrimon was doing the same, wincing from the impact he had made on the curb. "You need to get out of here!"

"We're not leaving!" Eva was defiant. "Not without you guys."

The Roachmon had linked arms and stood facing the trio of humans only a few feet away. In unison they shouted, "Roachmon Exterminate!" and dashed forward at a blistering speed, their free arms outstretched to grab the group before them. The trio cringed as they came closer, with Frankie and Eva releasing sharp screams. Together the devices Frankie, Eva, and James held emitted blinding light: orange, pink, and purple, each color corresponding to the light that enveloped their fallen Digimon.

The Roachmon's attack faltered and they veered off to one side. The small glowing Digimon's voices all rang out in turn, as their shapes changed.

"Uncimon, over-clock evolve to…" His round body grew upwards, and limbs sprouted: two arms and two legs. The grey coat covered his entire body, with spots littering his fur. His tail lengthened, and whiskers grew from his cheeks, while large claws extended from his fingers. "Irbimon!"

"Fallomon, over-clock evolve to…" Like with Uncimon, Fallomon's spherical body extended upwards, four long delicate legs growing outwards. A neck followed, with a snout and larger ears. Her coat remained a tawny brown, but down the centre of her back there was a pink stripe, dotted on either side with pink spots. "Odocomon!"

"Tigrimon, over-clock evolve to…" Finally, Tigrimon's voice rang out from the glowing orange, and like the others before, he grew. He rose onto two legs, with two arms growing from his torso. His already long tail grew even longer, and much like Irbimon, claws sprouted from his paws with more black stripes spreading over his body. "Siberimon!"

The glowing stopped, and the human trio and the Roachmon stopped shielding their eyes from the light. Frankie, Eva, and James all stood completely speechless, as their small companions no longer were their small size. They now stood larger, each about three feet in height, lining up together and facing the Roachmon, who now viewed them as their enemy, and not the humans.

"Let's go!" Irbimon ordered. He and Siberimon shot forward together at rapid speed, as the Roachmon did the same.

"Roachmon Flyswatter!" Kicks and punches were thrown, though the two feline Digimon were nimble enough to dodge and land some small attacks of their own using their claws. Irbimon and Siberimon shot in two different directions on either side of the Roachmon.

"Frost Srike!" Irbimon's claws shone and were suddenly frost-covered, spread out. He leapt at one of the Roachmon, raking claws across its back as it released an agonized yelp.

Siberimon followed, crossing his paws back, causing the wind to circulate around them both. In a rush he brought his paws forward, creating an 'X' shape, and sent the wind flying into the injured Roachmon. "Hurricane Slasher!"

A pink Molotov of light came from the back row, shot forward from Odocomon's mouth with a cry of "Borealis Stream!" and forcing the target back.

In retreat, the lone Roachmon fled to its sibling, injured and enraged. They joined hands again and shot up into the sky, well out of the range of the smaller Digimon. Six pairs of eyes went skyward, watching the brother Digimon becoming smaller and smaller in the dark sky; they were almost invisible against the blackness.

Then, suddenly, shapes began falling from the sky, abstract shapes.

"INCOMING!" Siberimon yelled, pushing Frankie out of the way of a piano that landed with a clang, creating a crater in the road. His eyes turned back to the Roachmon, who were diving after the objects they had sent from the sky.

"Irbimon, watch out!" Eva called to her partner, who was able to narrowly avoid the washing machine. Odocomon reared onto her hind legs, surprised as a freezer landed in front of her and James.

"Roachmon Exterminate!" The insect siblings were rounding up Eva and Frankie, who had remained close together for safety but a bit far from the rest. The Digimon and James were only able to watch. The Roachmon hovered above the ground, their wings creating an almost deafening buzzing sound as they circled the girls. They drifted out a short distance away, and then charged in together.

Once again, fear took over the girls as they held each other, Eva releasing a scream. At the same time, Irbimon and Siberimon dashed into the fray between the insect Digimon to guard their wards. As the Roachmon neared both small felines, the fear of the girls and their sense of protection kicked in. Both Irbimon and Siberimon stood their ground, baring fangs at the oncoming Digimon.

The light from before that had taken over them, returned. Irbimon and Siberimon were engulfed again in light.

"Irbimon, over-clock evolve to…" Irbimon grew to a massive size, standing on four legs with a large dark mane spreading down partway over his back and around his neck. His huge feet crushed the road beneath his bulk, forming ice. Around his left foreleg there was a huge spiked metal ring. From his head, six spikes of ice sprang: two from his forehead and four from his cheeks. Finally, from his mouth dipped two long canine teeth. With a glare in his eyes, and a swish of his now massive tail, he roared loudly: "Skadimon!"

"Siberimon, over-clock evolve to…" Like Irbimon, Siberimon took on a four-legged shape: long legs and massive paws and claws. The long tail became longer and gold rings appeared around his front right and back left legs. Like Skadimon, large teeth grew over his lower lip, giving him the appearance of a saber-toothed cat. And on his back, springing from his neck, was a dark mane of what appeared to be swirling wind. Not so much a roar but a calm growl: "Hurakamon!"

"Again?" Frankie was open mouthed in shock, while Eva struggled to find anything to say.

"Holy crap." James was less than eloquent. The two cats were giants - the Roachmon barely came up to their legs.

"Two brothers against two, right?" Hurakamon asked, as if he was smirking and slightly amused.

"It's fair," Skadimon agreed.

Finally, Eva found her voice. "Brothers?"

There was no time to speculate. The Roachmon pair dispersed and each took to one of the feline Digimon. One flew above Skadimon and grabbed onto the ice horns on his head, while the other led Hurakamon away, flying swiftly.

"Garbage Dump!" The one Roachmon attached to Skadimon manifested junk in his two spare arms – small items: toasters, a kettle, and crockery – from the air, dropping them down onto Skadimon's head as he swiped unsuccessfully with his paws. Hurakamon was feet away from his targeted Roachmon when he roared intensely, airing his attack.

"Wind Wrecker!" As he charged towards Roachmon, his eyes glowed pure white and his body transformed into a rushing tornado that followed and enveloped the Roachmon into its rapid spins. Roachmon yelled out in surprise as he was tossed in the swirling maelstrom. Finally Hurakamon seemed to come to a stop, and the tornado expelled Roachmon at huge velocity, spinning uncontrollably into the air.

Skadimon was growling, tired of the remaining Roachmon and its annoying dropping of items, which were piling up around his feet. There was a moment of near silence from the giant leopard, and then a rush, a snapping of jaws as he leapt at the Roachmon, frost engulfing his muzzle. The Roachmon, caught by surprise, reacted slowly and was caught on the leg by the massive jaws. A yell of pain prompted Skadimon to begin tossing the insect Digimon around as if it were a toy, and throw it into the other Roachmon.

Both Skadimon and Hurakamon stood side by side once again. A light illuminated from Skadimon's mouth, simultaneously as the wind made up of Hurakamon's mane began to blow around fiercely. Before the Roachmon brothers could regain themselves, the felines both released their attacks. Skadimon's beam mixed with the tornado coming from Hurakamon, creating a powerful cyclone made of ice and wind with a glowing beam in the center.

The attack slammed into the Roachmon dead-on, causing them to yell in agony before bursting into pixilated data. The data swirled around in the sky, making its way into the devices that both Eva and Frankie held.

The coast seemed clear, the battle over. James and Odocomon had been watching from a distance, and approached the group of four. Eva and Frankie were caught between the two large cats that started to glow again as soon as danger was gone. They shrunk down, and in their places were the smaller Digimon, Irbimon and Siberimon.

"That was a rush…!" Irbimon stated. He turned to Eva and smiled.

"Wh… what happened to Uncimon?"

Irbimon's smile lessened. "Well…it's still him, just…bigger. Same goes for all of us." He looked at the other two Digimon. James was surveying Odocomon, squatting to get a better look, though he seemed fine with the change, and was rubbing her head between her tiny horns. Siberimon was excitedly bouncing around Frankie, who looked half shocked, half relieved that it was over.

"More Digimon," James murmured as he was standing. "Who'd have thought it?" He looked at both feline Digimon, then at Eva and Frankie. "And brothers, no less." He grinned a little.

"Weird," Frankie exhaled.

"So weird," Eva agreed. She remembered then she had not introduced herself and quickly stuck her hand out to James. "I'm Eva. This is Frankie." Frankie waved.

"James."

Introductions over, they dropped hands. There was a silence where they could all hear the sound of sirens in the distance.

"We should get out of here before anyone turns up," Odocomon said slowly. "I don't have a thought the authorities would appreciate this."

"Damn right," Frankie agreed. "But we need to discuss this, the three – sorry – six of us." Siberimon smiled with approval.

"Let's deal with that later, for now I think we should move," Irbimon said briskly. He took off at a run. Siberimon followed with Eva, Frankie, James and Odocomon. They turned a corner away from the mess and carnage of the street destroyed by the Roachmon, just as the police cars arrived with lights flashing.

* * *

**Hello!**  
**Thank you for reading the first chapter/episode of Digimon Reboot. I hope you enjoyed it.**

**This is something written by myself, and two of my friends Zuza and Keisha. You can read the episodes on the website we have created for the fanseries which is located here: reboot . digimondelta . net [Remove the spaces].**  
**On the website you'll find more information about the characters, Digimon and you'll also find evolution animations made by Zuza.**

**Please do let me know what you think and the next chapter/episode will be up shortly.**


	2. Episode Two: Shadows in the Street

There wasn't a cloud in the sky. The sun shone brightly over the entire city, making this particular Saturday bright, beautiful, and perfect… for some, anyway.

"I can't do a thing with my hair in this heat…!" Frankie complained as she walked into Eva's cozy apartment. She flipped the hair from in front of her right eye; she had decided to comb her bangs over to that side, earlier in the day. The bright red of Frankie's four-inch heel Dillian Flower pumps shuffling slowly across the carpet caught Eva's attention.

"New shoes?" Eva asked.

"No, these are a few weeks old," Frankie replied nonchalantly. Frankie's attire was much more air friendly for a Saturday. It was obvious she had been out, or was going out. She wore a causal red fitting t-shirt with a white heart printed on it, that came a little past her red belt, and pair of blue short shorts to compliment her legs and shoes. Eva chuckled slightly as she shut the door behind her friend. "Thank god you have air conditioning." Frankie sat on the couch, crossing one leg over the other.

Eva placed her hands behind her head, ruffling her hair which was down and all pulled over to her left shoulder, fixing her bandana in the process. She adjusted her posture, stretching a bit, wearing her most comfortable pair of blue jeans with a simple pink polo t-shirt that matched her cute pink socks.

Eva paused for a moment, blinking once she had noticed Siberimon walking freely by Frankie's side. "Uhm… how did you get here with him out like that?" She pointed to the feline Digimon.

"Hm? Oh, when people asked I just said that he was my little brother in a costume." Frankie smiled, waving her hand in front of her face. Eva laughed once more, surprised she hadn't thought of that excuse yet. She hadn't yet figured out how to get Irbimon out of the apartment, unless it was late at night. She thought it unfair, as he had been used to going out and about with her in his smaller form of Uncimon. Now, though, he'd been cooped up indoors most of the time, and his cabin fever was beginning to show.

Siberimon politely sat himself on the couch next to Frankie without a word; he had been silent the entire time, and kept his paws to himself like a well behaved little boy. He listened to Eva and Frankie converse casually, their conversation drifting easily from Frankie's plans for the evening, to how they were getting on with having larger Digimon, Eva's college course, and Frankie's too. His ears would twitch every now and then, the only indication that he was listening.

As the two girls spoke to each other - Eva nursing a cup of tea and Frankie a soda - a pair of sharp blue eyes peeked from behind the couch, raising slowly as they focused on Siberimon, unnoticed by the other Digimon. Siberimon blinked several times, feeling like he was being watched. His nose tickled and twitched, looking around carefully. He was beginning to feel uneasy, and wanted to know what was causing him to feel this way.

"TAG, YOU'RE IT!" Irbimon shouted. He leaped from behind the couch and tackled Siberimon from his seat and onto the floor. The two Digimon rolled off the cushions and onto the floor, almost knocking into the small coffee table which sat idle in front of the love seat. Irbimon leaped from Siberimon who gave chase shortly after in the apartment.

They raced swiftly and quickly around, Irbimon at an advantage, knowing the apartment well. He bolted from the living area into the kitchen, Siberimon in hot pursuit. He jumped from the floor to the countertop in one smooth movement, and across the gangway onto the gas cooker, and then down onto the floor again as Siberimon followed his path. Irbimon then raced up the small staircase up to the bedroom, proceeding to leap onto the bed and underneath the covers. Siberimon was close behind him; there were suddenly two moving mounds under the duvet, trying to find each other. Irbimon had holed himself in a top corner near Eva's pillows, where his tail stuck out of the edge. Siberimon escaped the covers at the end of the bed and glanced around, looking for his brother, grinning deviously when he saw the tell-tale tail. He hopped off the bed to the floor and stalked over the carpet silently. He stopped and watched the tail twitch above him, before he withdrew his claws and gave it a clean, swift swipe. Irbimon yelped and bolted out of the bed, over the railing and into the living area.

"WOAH! WOAH! YOU GUYS! HEY!" Eva shouted, trying to calm the two Digimon down. Irbimon ran next to Siberimon, who was grabbed and pulled back on the couch by Frankie. "Maybe outside, but there's not enough room in here!" Eva scolded. Irbimon's ears dropped a little, disappointed that his game had been brought to a premature end.

"And you both are certainly a bigger, so ya'll could break something… or make a mess." Frankie narrowed her eyes to Siberimon. She suddenly had a thought. "Hey, where's Tom?"

Eva relaxed a bit. "He went to the store. He should be back in bit."

"Andddddd you gave… what's his name? James? Yea, James the right directions… right?"

Eva simply nodded; she made her way to the couch with Irbimon right behind her. Siberimon climbed into Frankie's lap as Eva and Irbimon sat down next to them. Frankie wrapped her arms around Siberimon automatically. To anyone who didn't know Siberimon was a walking breathing creature, it would have looked like Frankie was hugging an over sized plush toy.

Eva looked at Siberimon then to Frankie. "Is he scared of us or something? He's awfully quiet."

Frankie shook her head. "No he's just… really polite." She smiled.

Before Eva could add more to the conversation, a knock was heard upon the apartment door. She quickly rose to her feet and shuffled across the carpet floor, peeking out of the peep hole.

"Hey, it's James!" she said excitedly. Eva opened the door and stepped aside.

James had obviously just come from work, but had changed for comfort. He was wearing his button down white t-shirt from the restaurant, half open, with a pair of jeans and work shoes still.

James waved slightly with a nod. "Hey."

"No Digimon?" Eva asked, inviting him in.

James reached in his pocket and pulled out his device, opening it and pressing a button. A purple beam of data formed in front of him, taking the shape of Odocomon before actually forming into her.

"I discovered last night that our Digimon can be carried around in them…" he stated simply.

Odocomon stretched herself before politely greeting everyone. "Hello." Her voice was a lilt, and very soft. She followed James into the apartment to the couch. Frankie smiled in greeting at them both. Odocomon crossed around the front of the couch and folded her legs up beneath her body so she sat upon the floor. James perched on the arm of the sofa.

Out of politeness, Eva retrieved a glass of water from the kitchen for James while he and Frankie made friendly small talk. Asking each other about their days and that it was nice to see each other again. Siberimon remained quiet, and Irbimon watched Eva go about her business, with blue eyes peering over the back of the couch until she was finished.

Once she sat down there was a silence of awkward proportions where the three of them knew they should start talking, but didn't really know which one should start – or where for that matter. Up until yesterday, they hadn't been aware of the existence of any other Digimon bar their own (and Corvimon for Eva), so suddenly facing more Digimon - not just friendly, but aggressive ones like the Roachmon - was some new and unexplored territory.

James cleared his throat, and took a sip of water.

It was Siberimon who broke the silence with a suggestion. "Perhaps it would be prudent to explain how you found how to transport Odocomon?" His yellow eyes were trained on James who nodded, removing his device once again from his pocket.

"It's an option." Eva and Frankie took their own Digivices, pink and orange, and held them in their hands. "I was exploring it last night after my shift finished; it does a lot of interesting things. Shows the health of your Digimon. To transport them in the thing, you select the connection option on the menu and choose travel connect. Scared the crap out of the both of us when Odocomon vaporized into it." He smiled fondly at the deer, who returned it.

"Neat." Frankie was grinning. "I do still like telling people you're my brother in a costume though." She nudged Siberimon, who smiled in return.

"What else?" Eva asked. Irbimon was looking over her shoulder at the item as she scrolled through options.

It seemed to be a mixture of a specifically digital item, and a phone. There were options typical to cell phones: contacts, messages, Internet access, and the ability to store MP3s. There was also calendar, and customizing options such as wallpapers. The digital items seemed fairly obvious to Eva; there were icons for Digimon, pertaining to its health and the stage it was. This you could scroll through to see previous stages. Eva had found an image of Ouncemon, Irbimon's original stage, which brought back memories.

There was also the option to view other Digimon. Siberimon, Odocomon and their previous forms had been registered. Frankie and James were automatically in the contacts. Corvimon was there, and also the Roachmon. Each page was small, and could be manipulated to show more information, which could then be scrolled through with a soft touch. It showed their health, information such as eating habits and ideal habitat. It also disclosed attacks and their elemental alignment.

"I guess there's probably more, but that's what I've found for now," James concluded.

"I like the touch screen." Eva nodded. "Any idea what it's called?" James shook his head.

"How about a D-Touch?" Frankie suggested, easily spinning hers around in her hand. "Yeah, D, for Digimon and Touch cause it's a touch screen."

"Makes sense," James agreed.

"And it's not too much of a mouthful," Irbimon added. "By the way," he was looking at Frankie, "how come you didn't tell Eva you had a Digimon? More specifically, my brother."

"I didn't know…?" Frankie grinned sheepishly. "Then again, Eva didn't know I had Siberimon. In fact, the only people who knew were my family. I mean, before he was Siberimon and Tigrimon, he was Brisamon, and before that, an egg."

"Same here. My family has known about Odocomon since I was born. The egg was there waiting in my cot when I was brought home from hospital," James confirmed.

"Trippy… we've all had our Digimon since we were babies," Eva said. "Even Tom."

Frankie sat up alert. "Tom too?!"

"Yeah." Eva nodded, apparently surprised by Frankie's reaction.

"Tom who?" James added.

Irbimon spoke this time. "Tom is Eva's house mate."

"Boyfriend," Eva corrected, lightly batting the snow leopard Digimon on the head. "He's got one too, Corvimon. Little grey flightless bird," she explained, still seeming unfazed.

"You just _happen_ to get into a relationship with a guy with a Digimon – now that is trippy," Frankie stated. She leaned against the back of the couch, arms and legs folded.

Odocomon lifted her head, she had been silent, listening to the goings on around her, but mostly dozing quietly on the floor. "I can imagine that was an interesting conversation when you introduced Uncimon."

Eva laughed nervously. "Well… it was different."

Conversation flowed easily, the six of them speaking as if they had known each other and about their partners for years – the previous awkwardness had dissipated completely and the room felt at ease and casual. Comfortable.

As they started discussing the Roachmon, the three Digimon lifted their heads and stared at the door. It was a few seconds before the sound of keys on the lock was heard. Tom entered a few seconds later, laden with bags. Behind him, Corvimon was following, dragging a bag of bread with her beak. She spotted the other Digimon, all now on their feet, approaching her, promptly dropped the bag and fled to Tom's side.

"Hey, easy there." Tom bent and picked her up, placing her on his shoulder. "Hey everyone." He waved quickly and began decanting the shopping.

"This is James," Eva introduced Tom. He and James shook hands quickly. "You know Frankie, obviously. And this is Odocomon and Siberimon." She indicated to both Digimon, who stood beside their partners in the threshold.

"This is Corvimon." Tom indicated to the quivering ball on his shoulder. "Sorry about her, she's a little nervous sometimes." He smiled quickly, patted her feathery head and continued on with his task. "Don't let me interrupt."

"Actually you came at the perfect time," Siberimon spoke.

"Oh?"

"Mhm-hm." Frankie nodded. "How come you have a Digimon too?"

Tom shrugged one shoulder. "No idea, she was just there when I was a baby." He turned to Frankie. "Could ask the rest of you the same thing. It's kind of weird isn't it?"

"How so?" Eva asked.

"We all have Digimon," Tom replied simply. "I have to wonder if any other people do."

"Maybe," Irbimon muttered. "Anything is possible I guess. I mean, I didn't think there were other Digimon 'cept me and Corvimon."

"And now look," Siberimon commented. The two feline Digimon exchanged looks and grinned at each other. Eva and Frankie laughed.

Tom finished packing away the groceries, with Eva's help and with Corvimon on his shoulder. Most business of Digimon discussed or otherwise forgotten, James and Frankie sat on the love seat, Frankie flipping through channels with Siberimon on her lap. Odocomon sat on the floor again, underneath James's outstretched legs. Irbimon was keeping Eva's seat warm, and moved when she came to sit. Tom was beside her, with Corvimon, who still remained silent, huddled up in his lap and shying away from the others.

Eventually, Frankie settled on the end of a crime scene TV show, which had further episodes following it after the ten minute news update. She wanted to know if anything of the Roachmon had been reported, and more importantly, if they and the Digimon had been spotted. The credits rolled and shortly after, the headlines were announced.

"_On your ten minute update today:_

_Police question a man regarding the disappearance of nine-year-old Jeice Kombre._

_Head of Atlas Corp, Bella Divine quashes rumors the company is responsible for the incident downtown._

_Fire in luxury hotel, Ramada, now believed to be arson._

_Good afternoon,"_

The news woman spoke clearly, reading from her notes the basics of the worst the news had to offer. It seemed every day there was something else, someone dead or missing. The Jeice Kombre kid had been missing for nearly six weeks and had been on the front page most days out of that time.

The story about Atlas Corp caught the attention of all who sat in the room. Atlas Corp was the company everyone knew about. They made and controlled everything, from clothing and washing machines, to super computers, sky scrapers and satellites. Bella Divine was the head of the corporation, the CEO since her husband had died. She was a relatively tall woman, statuesque, but she looked cold and unapproachable. She spoke without consulting any notes, was swift, and gave her answers shortly and without hesitation, directly into the camera.

"_I can assure you that the incident with the falling home objects was nothing to do with Atlas Corp. Despite many of the items being made by the company, it was not a publicity stunt, or a delivery gone wrong. It in fact had nothing to do with the company, and is believed to be one of our competitors making and attempt to tarnish our well-founded and hard-earned reputation by playing silly pranks, which have injured several people and put two people in intensive care._

_As CEO for Atlas Corp, I have pledged that we will assist in whatever way we can the clean-up and repair of the damage to downtown, and that the people who have suffered most from this mess will be aptly compensated. Thank you."_

Again the screen flipped back to the news room, and the reader continued.

"Talk about an ice queen," Frankie muttered.

Eva agreed. "Would not like to meet her down a dark alley. Still, at least nothing about Digimon mentioned or linked to it."

"_This just in-"_ the TV screen cut away from the weather report to the news room where the reader was looking at a piece of paper, _"the financial district is currently being attacked by what onlookers have described as a large bird. This footage of the creature was caught by a tourist on their cell phone."_ The screen cut again, to a shaky handheld film with no sound of the tall sky scrapers in the financial district and what could be just seen as a large set of tail feathers. More chilling was the camera panning down, and then zooming into the terrified face of a stone man. _"Reports have stated that it is extremely dangerous to be out on the streets, and to avoid leaving your homes and buildings at all costs. This may seem like a practical joke, but it appears people are turning to stone upon looking at this creature in some kind of bizarre Medusa effect…"_

The room was silent as the TV continued on about the emergency report. Odocomon silently got to her feet and nudged James. The Digimon all recovered quickly and were pulling at their partners.

"Digimon," Odocomon murmured.

"Right," James said breathlessly.

"It's turning people to stone?!" Eva yelped, getting to her feet.

"How are we going to get there?" Frankie added. "The financial district is at least forty minutes on foot!"

"I have my truck," James replied. He was heading for the door, with Eva, Frankie, and Tom in quick pursuit with their Digimon. Tom felt it necessary to go. Now that he was not alone in having a Digimon, he felt it would be best to stick close to them. "A couple of you will have to sit in the back in the open, but it'll fit us all."

"Sounds good to me." Tom closed the door behind him and locked it quickly. Moments later they were dashing down the hall.

* * *

James' truck came to a screeching halt, before sliding. He had parked a couple of blocks away from where the alleged strange happenings were… well, happening.

The group slowly turned the corner of the next street.

"Oh… my." Eva couldn't find the words to explain the scene.

To their horror, it was much like the news had spoken about. Hundreds of people who had been walking around the financial district were turned into stone; some cars were damaged, with the street lights going haywire with electric currents.

The group had little time to react before the ground began to shake with small tremors. A sudden burst of light came from Tom's pocket, prompting him to pull out his cell phone. The phone shifted and changed in his hands, revealing a black and green device much like the others.

"What the-" The tremors came harder. Tom caught Eva, who almost fell over.

"Whatever is coming towards us, is a biggie." Odocomon walked ahead of the others. Irbimon and Siberimon stood by her side, the three determined to protect the others from whatever was coming their way. Corvimon kept herself hidden behind Tom, peeking slightly across his leg.

The sound of a "CAW" was heard as the giant figure turned the corner around the building.

"That is…one…huge…" Frankie stepped back slightly.

"Chicken?" James finished her sentence, in somewhat disbelief to what he was seeing.

The giant Digimon was pretty much around three stories tall. His white feathers shook with each step, while everything he stepped on was crushed under his feet. He walked slowly, lowering his head close to the ground as he turned the corner, and his back feathers began glowing.

Tom's Digivice activated, a giant holographic screen forming slightly in front of him.

"Kokatorimon, a champion level bird Digimon. He has an impressive crest and sharp beak. He can turn his opponent into a statue by releasing beams emitted from his eyes with an attack called Petrifier."

"Oh, wow. What can these things not do?" Eva commented cheerfully, looking at her own device-

"MOVE!" James shouted, Eva looked up just in time and dove out the way as a green beam hit dead in the middle of the street.

Everyone had found themselves on the ground, getting up as quick as possible. Tom found himself holding Corvimon, who was shivering in his arms, her eyes closed tightly.

Irbimon, Siberimon and Odocomon raced towards Kokatorimon.

"Aurora Light!"

"Biting Ice!"

"Hurricane Slasher!"

They attacked simultaneously.

Kokatorimn backed up, roaring back. He reared his head back, forming a ball of energy in his mouth. His red back feathers glowed once more, seeming to add energy to the attack.

Odocomon lowered her head, opening her mouth forming a beam of her own.

Irbimon's claws covered in ice, he leaped towards Kokatorimon. "Frost Strike!"

Siberimon, who was running towards Kokatorimon from behind, leaped into the air as well. "Moon…Ripper!" Shot a huge amount of damaging wind from his mouth.

Irbimon's claws made contact, knocking Kokatorimon to the side before the attack he was charging was released. The attack crashed into a building, sending flying flash and debris into the street. Kokatorimon was sent forward from Siberimon's attack, but flying to the side from Irbimon's punch.

"Borealis Stream!" Odocomon finally charged up her attack, hitting Kokatorimon head on and sending him flying back down the street. His crash caused dust to disable the group's vision with a few coughs.

"He's done, right?" Eva asked.

Tom felt Corvimon shake violently in his arms, before trying to bury herself in his chest. Tom was puzzled by her sudden behavior; it was like she wanted to fight but was fighting with herself not to.

"I'm so over this," Frankie commented, dusting off her heels.

A green light caught their attention from the dust cloud and before they could react it shot through the air rapidly.

It happened instantly; Irbimon, Siberimon and Odocomon were suddenly stone.

Kokatorimon's laugh flooded the sound of the streets as the smoke cleared.

James shook in horror, unable to move, while all Frankie could do was gasp loudly, covering her mouth with both hands to hold in a loud scream. Eva was too shocked to do anything. Tom and Corvimon were completely speechless.

"This isn't good, not at all," Tom commented.

Corvimon leaped from Tom's arms, bouncing towards the others with her eyes closed and small tears in the corner of her eyes.

"Corvimon, WAIT! YOU CAN'T-" Tom ran after her.

Corvimon let out a small cry before launching herself to the chicken Digimon. "BLACKOUT!"

The small bird Digimon slammed herself right in the middle of Kokatorimon's forehead, with little damage being given. Kokatorimon's head jerked back slightly as he only released a small yelp of pain.

The device in Tom's hand once again started to glow as Corvimon was falling towards him. He held out his arms to catch her.

"Corvimon, over-clock evolve to…" The small ball of light shifted into something a little bigger. Corvimon's feathers became darker, with most of her upper body turning black. Silver rings appeared at the top of her black arm-like wings, and a small bushy tail of feathers followed from behind her. "Poemon!"

Poemon fell into Tom's arms and clung to him slightly. Tom took a moment to notice his partner's new form, but his thoughts were quickly interrupted.

"UH. MOVE, MAYBE?" Frankie's voice called out from afar, Tom looked up to notice Kokatorimon charging yet another attack.

Poemon pushed Tom back, sliding him across the ground but also out of harm's way as she shot towards Kokatorimon.

"Nevermore…!" She tried to find confidence in herself, disappearing in a puff of smoke before reappearing in front of Kokatorimon's face once again. She slashed the fellow bird Digimon with shadow-covered claws, flying back out of the distracted attack he released.

Her attack hit the Digimon dead in both eyes, causing Kokatorimon to suffer from temporary blindness. In a freak out, the giant chicken Digimon began blasting and swinging his wings around randomly, causing pandemonium in the streets.

"Oh no…!" Poemon said to herself, barely dodging the beams flying from Kokatorimon's mouth shooting in all different directions.

On the ground, James, Eva, and Frankie collected the stone versions of their partners, holding them close while they dodged the random beams shooting around. Eva turned to look for Tom.

"Tom? TOM!?" She shouted but couldn't see him.

"What the HELL is he DOING?" James stopped his running once he had looked back, seeing Tom running towards Kokatorimon.

Tom wasn't going to leave Poemon behind, and even if they didn't defeat the Kokatorimon, he was going to have her with him.

Poemon frantically flew around, trying not to get hit.

"Poemon! Let's go!" Tom yelled out.

She didn't question it and quickly tried to fly towards Tom in a panic. "I-I'm sorry…!" She kept apologizing as she flew down towards him. Tom once again opened his arms out for her to fly into with a smile forming across his face.

But the smile quickly faded.

Kokatorimon's head came into focus behind Poemon, his eyes glowing green, ready for an attack.

"Fuck!" Tom shouted. Poemon looked slightly behind herself. She panicked more. Kokatorimon roared out, the feathers behind him glowing brightly while another beam formed in his mouth.

"Poemon!"

"Tom!" the others shouted.

Poemon gasped, triggering the device from Tom's pocket to activate once more.

The crow Digimon was suddenly surrounded by green light, the only light that seemed to illuminate from her body since she had been in this form.

"Poemon, over-clock evolve to…" The streets darkened. All the street lights, building lights, the light from the devices, they were all absorbed in a tornado of darkness that surrounded Poemon's form. The small bird's body shifted to become even bigger, wings expanding outwards, bat-like membranes stretched across the bottom row of feathers. Her colors stayed intact, with two more silver rings forming around the ankles of her bird legs. Her bushy tail of feathers turned into a massive wave of dark smoke, trailing behind her every move. Her eyes showed more seriousness and more confidence than before, and with that she shouted with pride, "Valramon!"

Valramon took no time in letting her new form be admired.

"I am tired of you," she stated, flying high over Kokatorimon. All of the light that was near or around her was absorbed, making her form barely visible in the night aside from her piercing green eyes.

Kokatorimon reared his head back, feathers glowing, and released another beam from his mouth. Valramon dodged it with ease, and was suddenly partly engulfed by the smoke of her tail.

"Night Strike!" Diving towards Kokatorimon, the attack hit, causing the chicken Digimon to yell out in agony.

Valramon flew back into the air, and repeated the attack once more. Kokatorimon's body started to become data pixels as it cried out once more. Valramon flapped her wings, watching from above as the Digimon had fallen.

Kokatorimon's data remains made their way towards Tom, flying around him before entering his Digivice. 'Data Saved.' flashed on the screen.

"Ah." Tom placed the device back into his pocket, before turning to Valramon who quickly reformed back into Poemon. Tom bent down on one knee as Poemon ran towards him, embracing him with a hug before he stood back up, holding her in his arms.

"I'm so tired…" Poemon closed her eyes against Tom's chest.

It wasn't long before the stone people in the streets were returning to normal, as well as Irbimon, Siberimon and Odocomon.

"Biting Ice!" Irbimon attacked Siberimon's tail; not realizing the battle was over and attacked the first thing in his face.

"OW! YOU IDIOT!" Siberimon turned to Irbimon, punching him over the top of his head.

Tom made his way back over to the group who all had little to nothing to say.

"Get out of here?" James asked, the question rhetorical.

The group quickly jogged away, turning the corner of the street back to James' truck.


	3. Episode Three: Light At Dusk

When the weather changed drastically, allowing some small respite from the blazing heat everyone had been experiencing, James enjoyed it. Work was easier since he wasn't sweating so much, and he didn't get as tired so quickly. The overall work environment, both at the restaurant and the building site, was more affable. Heat made people snappy and irritable; this cooler weather, still with the bright clear sky, meant everyone was an ideal temperature, and therefore cheerful and accommodating. He was also able to sleep better because of the lower temperature. It also meant his siblings were sleeping better, an additional bonus.

This particular day James was working on the building site. The house was coming along quickly thanks to the endless supply of good weather. The first glass floor of the house was completed, and work was starting on the second floor. The garden was being organized and designed by some flashy horticulturist who seemed to flounce where ever he walked, and was obsessed with water features and crazy paving.

It was two thirty – James' lunch break. He was sitting a short distance away from the building site, shaded underneath a large sycamore tree. He had his lunchbox settled in his lap, and the newspaper on a knee. The grass here was long, so Odocomon, who sat beside him enjoying his silent company, was perfectly hidden, like a fawn hiding from prey. She munched happily on half of James' sandwich, a ritual they had started when she was still Fallomon. When James had been in high school he would always share lunch with her.

Since her transformation from Fallomon to Odocomon, they had both adapted well to the change, so had James' family, though his brothers and dad had been a bit surprised to see him come home with a small deer in tow. Every morning, James would drive to work and have Odocomon in the front seat of the truck. He would park away from the building site and let them both out. Odocomon would dash into thick cover – be it a bush, grass or hedgerow – and James would head to work. He always knew she was close by because his D-Touch would bleep intermittently. It did this constantly, which he assumed meant all was fine. Odocomon could easily hide herself, and was almost impossible to see once she had found somewhere to settle and was stationary. Still, she kept her attention on James all the time, alert for any danger. As Fallomon she had not been able to watch James work much, always hidden away in his hood or the pockets of his jacket. Now, though, she was able to observe more closely, and was beginning to gain a new found respect for him.

"You're awfully quiet," Odocomon said around a mouthful of peanut butter sandwich. James glanced at her, stopping as he went to bite into his own sandwich.

"Just reading the paper. There's a big report here about the Atlas Corp," James explained. "The Company is buying up a lot of other well known stores and chains. It's like they're taking over."

Odocomon's ears flickered, startling a fly that buzzed around her head like she was a landing spot. "And that's a bad thing?"

"Could be." James shrugged. He glanced again at Odocomon, who was watching him with interest. He sighed and laid the paper down. Even in this form she had intense curiosity. Odocomon laid her head on James' knee, and he placed his free hand on her head between her tiny horns. "If the majority of chains and companies are all bought out by the same one, then people with shares in those companies are in danger."

"How so?"

"Well, if Atlas Corp lost money, or were found out to be making fraudulent claims, then they would go bust or bankrupt. Consequently the businesses they owned would too, and the people who had investment in the businesses would feel the brunt. Kind of like a domino effect."

"I… see," Odocomon said slowly.

James sighed. "The thing with Atlas Corp is that they're everywhere now. This building was commissioned by them for one of their top dogs. The mill we get the steel from is owned by Atlas Corp, our pay checks come from them, the cement mixer company and the skip company: all owned by Atlas Corp, or they at least have shares in them." He leaned back against the tree, peering through the dapples of the leaves at the sky. "It's like a very subtle takeover."

"That's bad?" asked Odocomon.

James looked down at her. Big green eyes with long ash-colored eyelashes blinked slowly, and he smiled weakly. "Probably not. I'm just thinking the worst."

"You worry too much," Odocomon stated. James was reading his paper again, but his eyes were not following the lines of print. "You work two jobs… you come home and look after the others, including your dad. Frankie, Tom, and Eva… they're older than you, and they don't seem to have this much responsibility. Do you ever think you take on too much?"

"I don't have a choice," James said stiffly. "Dad's not much the way he is, with the bi-polar and stuff. Besides, I don't mind. Not like I have any other commitments other than work."

"Me?"

"You're not a commitment," James replied. He smiled and stroked Odocomon's head. Her expression was still troubled, though before she could say anything else, a tune began to chime from James' pocket. It was the Pink Panther theme, his ringtone. He withdrew his D-Touch from his pocket and checked caller ID before answering. "Hey Frankie."

"_Hiiiiiii~"_ Frankie's cheerful voice came through loud and clear. _"What're you up to this evening? You workin'?"_

"No. Night off."

"_Word! Eva, Tom, and me were thinking of heading to the local football field in the evening, take a picnic, and let the Digimon run loose. Wanna join us?"_

James looked quickly at Odocomon, who was watching him on the phone. Her ears were straight forward and her expression serious, she was picking up every word Frankie said. "Sure – that'd be fun. I can pick up some stuff from the restaurant, I doubt they'll mind."

"_Great! Seven thirty and the North Holt playing field, got that?"_

"Sure. Bye."

"_Toodles!"_ Frankie hung up and James replaced the D-Touch in his pocket after quickly checking the time. His break was over by five minutes; Mr. Winch would have a hernia if James wasn't back soon.

"Okay, got to get back to work. You stay here." He gave Odocomon a departing pat as he rose to his feet and brushed the crumbs off his work overalls. He crossed the grass and paving, entering the building site through the fence keeping it separate from the street.

"There you are." James was greeted by a laid back tone. He turned and saw a colleague, Reyez, walking towards him. Reyez was a few years older than James, and they had worked on most of the same building projects together, though they had rarely interacted. Reyez didn't give off an air that he was a social creature, and James didn't tend to make casual chat with colleagues. Still – he seemed nice enough, just quiet, and he always seemed tired – to James at least. Reyez was shorter than him, with tan skin and dark hair, cut close to his scalp. He had tattoos, one on his neck, and a black tear drop beneath his right eye. James wasn't sure if he had any others. His lower lip was pierced.

James always found it odd that he appeared to keep on his person, constantly, a plush teddy bear in the form of a panda. He would sometimes be carrying it in his arms, but mostly he somehow kept it supported on his shoulder. When questioned he said it was lucky, and didn't go into further explanations. And while some of the older workers made fun of Reyez for the cuddly toy, it didn't seem to faze him.

"Yeah, I know I'm late back. I got a phone call," James explained. He carried on walking past Reyez to the scaffolding he needed to climb up to get back to where he had been working before his break.

Reyez shrugged and followed after him. "I'm not chasing you up for Winch," he said lazily, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "George was askin' about you, is all."

"George?" James stopped and looked at Reyez over his shoulder. He was momentarily distracted by the panda bear; he could have sworn it had moved. In his pocket, his D-Touch bleeped twice, high pitched. A different tone to the one used to tell him Odocomon was fine. He gripped the device in his pocket.

"Yeah – something about needing you to fix a door or something; I wasn't paying that much attention," explained Reyez. "…Also, uh…who were you talking to?" Reyez went straight to the point.

"On the phone?"

"Yeah," a pause, "and while you were sitting over there." He indicated to the trees and field from where James had just come. "Saw you talking, couldn't see who to. Looked pretty…uhm, intense? I guess I should say."

"Hands free," James replied. He quietly hoped that Reyez had not gotten close enough to see Odocomon. He did worry about keeping her out in the open like this; she hid well, but anyone getting too close could easily spot or spook her.

Reyez cocked an eyebrow. "Right," he said finally. James released a breath he had been unconsciously holding. He gave Reyez and the panda a departing glance before he started to clamber up the scaffolding.

Work finished for Reyez at half past four. He had started early, which meant he was able to finish his day early. It suited him. He left the building site in his typical leisurely pace. He bid goodbye to a few of his colleagues and was out of the gates. He wondered what to do with the rest of his day. He could go home, to the apartment he shared with his sister and her husband, but it would be stuffy and stifling – he only ever liked being there to sleep. It wasn't really a place to hang out unless they were both out, which was rarely.

He considered simply wandering the city. He did, on occasion, but not recently. It had been too hot, and it had been uncomfortable to walk long distances. But today it was a good temperature. He could walk until the sun was down and then some. Though, there was only so much a city could offer, and once you had seen it once, you'd seen it all before.

He was walking as he thought, and the panda plush earlier attached to his neck, he now held in his arms, crossed in front of him. The plush he carried wriggled in his arms in an attempt to get comfortable, though to anyone passing by, the movements were too subtle to notice. Reyez paused his walking to take a cigarette from the pack in his pocket and light it, before continuing.

"Stop fidgeting," Reyez muttered, glancing down at the white head and black ears of the panda. It, in turn, looked up at him for a moment, before it begrudgingly settled in its place. "Good." Reyez patted its head with a large hand and they carried on their way.

After some time, the panda moved again. "Where are we going?" Its voice was female. She had her tiny arms leaning on the forearm that held her in place, and Reyez could feel her tiny feet kicking. "Rey? Where we goin'?"

"Nowhere," Reyez replied.

"Then why not go home?"

"Because going nowhere is better than home," Reyez replied. "You know what it's like, Tohuimon." The small panda was silent for a few minutes as Reyez continued on his way. He looked in the windows of various video game shops he passed. Some independent stores and some chains, there had been some new releases he had his eye on lately, and independent stores often had rare games for sale that he could add to his vast collection.

He had been walking for some time, nearly an hour and a half, when he decided to sit down to eat something. He had bought a meatball sub from Subway and sat on a bench to eat it. Tohuimon sat beside him, and ate the pieces he passed her quietly.

As they sat side by side, watching the world go by, Tohuimon stopped eating, sitting up alert and smelling the air. Reyez noticed immediately, and put the sandwich aside for a moment, focused on the tiny panda.

"I smell…" Tohuimon muttered. She twisted this way and that, straining herself, eventually getting to her feet and wandering a few paces down the bench. "I smell…" she paused again, and was still, completely silent, facing north. Reyez followed her gaze and saw what she saw. The black hair with the bleached streak was unmistakable, as was the sense of style: an orange mini dress with dark tights and black high-heeled boots. It was Frankie. Though Tohuimon seemed more focused on what she had beside her. Walking at her side was a cat, standing on two legs, grey in color with black stripes and sharp yellow eyes. "Digimon," Tohuimon said eventually.

"….Uh," Reyez said, shaking his head. "Can't be."

"You're doubting me?" Tohuimon retorted gruffly, staring at Reyez over her shoulder. Reyez quirked an eyebrow, skeptical. "I know a Digimon when I smell one. And that is one!" She was pointing at Frankie's departing back. She and the cat were walking away now. He knew this area, and there were no clubs nearby, so he guessed she was heading to the local playing fields. Why was her business, but he was intrigued none-the-less. "Let's follow her!" Tohuimon said. She was tugging on the sleeve of Reyez's t-shirt with her tiny paws. "Come on! Before they get too far away!"

Reyez sighed. It had been a while since he'd seen Frankie, and they hadn't exactly parted on the best terms, but if she had a Digimon… He looked at Tohuimon, thinking over the options. Finally he threw what was left of the sandwich in the trash, stood up, and placed Tohuimon on his shoulder.

"Okay, but we're keeping our distance." Reyez walked on, following the route he assumed Frankie would be taking to the North Holt field. He hoped, somewhat, that Tohuimon was wrong.

"Think fast!" Irbimon shouted, leaping out of a tree branch, down to the ground and pouncing on Poemon, who squawked in surprise.

Eva and Tom had set up a picnic rug and large basket in the corner of the playing field, near some trees and a small playground. The field was relatively deserted for the evening; only a few people were walking their dogs or cycling through to get home. And none of them were coming near the play area. It was good to see the Digimon out and about, stretching their legs and having fun. Transporting them in D-Touches was all well and good, but it didn't seem right to Eva or Tom to keep their two now larger Digimon indoors all the time, so taking a trip to the playing field had been their idea, to let all the Digimon work off their energy.

Plus is gave the four humans a chance to sit and hang out. As it was clear that with their Digimon around, they would be spending a lot of time together.

"Can't catch me!" Poemon was chirping, flying above Irbimon as he pursued her on the ground.

"No fair! I can't fly!" Irbimon complained. He jumped from the ground several times, but Poemon was able to easily dodge his attempts at catching her. She hovered in the air, giggling.

Tom laid back on the rug, arms behind his head. The sun was beginning to set; the sky was drifting in different colors: yellow, orange, blue and pink, with the occasional white cloud sitting in the sky, blown along by the breeze.

He exhaled. "This was a really good idea." He patted Eva's hand. "Nice job."

Eva smiled gratefully; she was setting out bottles of chilled water and plastic tumblers for when the others arrived. She had also packed bowls for the Digimon without hands to drink from.

There was a trill laugh a few feet away as Poemon was pinned down by Irbimon and he stood on her tail, posing proudly. "Ha-ha! That'll teach you cheating!" He stuck his tongue out.

"I'll teach you for pinning a lady." Irbimon turned suddenly, in time to see his brother launching himself at him and knocking him flying off Poemon, who hopped to her feet. The two feline Digimon began to playfully wrestle in the grass, and continue the game of tag they had started a few days ago in Eva and Tom's apartment. Out here they couldn't break anything.

Poemon flapped into the playground and perched on the climbing frame, observing the tussle. Irbimon led the play fight into the play area and started to run away from his brother through the objects the park had to offer, using the different toys to his advantage. He trotted along a see-saw that Siberimon followed him onto. They both stopped at different ends, and the see-saw teetered in the middle, equaling out.

"Hey," Eva greeted Frankie as she sat down on the rug.

"Hey-hey," Frankie returned. "Hi Tom." Tom waved at her lazily. He had his eyes closed. "I told James where to meet us."

Eva gave a thumbs up. "Nice."

Frankie was eyeing the picnic box with a cocked eyebrow. "Uh, you sure you have enough food?" She didn't think the box was big enough to fit food and water for four people and four Digimon.

"More than enough. It's a lot bigger inside than it looks," Eva confirmed. "There's plenty there. I took some bread from the bakery, and some cakes and stuff. Tom was cooking all day, so we've got plenty of food, plenty of choices. You'll see."

Frankie nodded and sat back, a quick glance at the park confirmed the Digimon were fine and she could relax. She shuffled on the blanket where it scratched her legs a little, and adjusted her position. "It's been nice having a break from Digimon attacks," she stated, releasing a relaxed sigh.

It had been about three days since Poemon had evolved, and there had been no other run-ins with Digimon during that time. Though they had only battled three Digimon, the meetings with them had been fearsome, and had most definitely changed all their opinions of Digimon, forcing them to look at their companions in different ways. All their lives, they had been used to having a partner in a small form – a constant friend and guardian. Now they all faced the fact that they were bigger, and that they were built and made to fight, really. Fighting to defend them, but born to fight none-the-less. This unsettled Frankie more than she liked to admit.

Seeing Siberimon turn to stone had hit home that he could in fact die. She didn't like that idea. She knew the others didn't either.

"It has been nice – I wouldn't get used to it though," Eva replied. She checked the time on her D-Touch, glanced up as she did, and spotted James and Odocomon making their way over the grass. "Yo!" She waved.

Tom sat up, greeting James with a wave, Frankie the same. James was still in his work overalls, but had the top unbuttoned, and the sleeves off his arms and down around his waist. He had a plain red t-shirt on instead. He sat with the others while Odocomon went across to the park to investigate the game the other Digimon were involved in; a new game where they were pretending the ground was hot lava and they couldn't touch it, but they couldn't stay in one place for too long, otherwise that became lava too.

"They sound like they're having fun," James stated.

Tom nodded. "They've been playing since we got here. I bet they'll still be full of energy when we get home." He grinned at Eva, who nodded firmly.

"Probably." She pulled the basket around in front of her and pushed the lid off. "Who's hungry?" There was a chorus of 'me' from the Digimon as the group of four were set upon by their partners.

Reyez watched the group from a distance. He had tailed Frankie since he had seen her – at a fairly large gap so she didn't get the feeling she was being followed. He was settled on the grass with Tohuimon in front of him, looking eager to go over. Reyez was debating whether this would be a good idea or not.

They did look like Digimon; they were bigger than Tohuimon, but did not look like normal animals. For one thing, the two cats were walking on their hind legs. And the bird was bigger than any bird Reyez had ever seen, and the other was a deer. When did you see a deer in the city?

He sighed and got to his feet, tossing the last of his cigarette. No, he wouldn't interrupt. If only to avoid any unwanted awkwardness with Frankie. If he wanted to, he knew where she lived, and was sure he could ask her directly. But in front of friends, he didn't want to risk a scene.

"Come on." He beckoned Tohuimon with his hand. She looked at him and then glanced back at the group. A few seconds passed and she hadn't moved. "Tohuimon," Reyez said more firmly.

She seemed to have different ideas, and started to move across the grass quickly in the direction of the eight. Reyez rolled his eyes.

"Get back here… I'm not chasing you!"

No response from the scurrying panda forced Reyez to start after her. Moving swiftly, but not running, he caught up with her in a few strides and went to scoop her up in his hands. She turned swiftly.

"Whack!" From nowhere, she pulled out a bamboo stick and hit his hand away with some force.

"Shit!" Reyez shook his now throbbing hand. Tohuimon was moving even faster over the ground away from him. He scowled. Damnit – she just _had_ to be a determined Digimon. He thought for a moment. He wouldn't leave her, but he didn't want her to get too close in case the other Digimon weren't as friendly. "God damnit," he crudely huffed. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and started over, tromping slowly over the ground.

Irbimon was distracted from his second plateful of food first, and tapped Siberimon when his keen eyesight spotted what it was that had disturbed him. Coming from up wind, so its scent was coming at them full force, he and Siberimon could see a small shape hurrying through the grass.

Poemon noticed their distraction next, and finally Odocomon, who was up on her hooves a few moments later. Tohuimon dashed through the spindly limbs and arrived on the picnic rug out of breath. Odocomon stared at her through her legs.

Eva, Tom, Frankie, and James – who had been discussing the most recent film releases – stopped mid-conversation, all staring at the panting panda.

"Uhhh…" Frankie set aside her sandwich. "Guys?" She pulled her D-Touch from her purse and pointed it at the panda. A holographic image appeared above the screen, the panda was rotating in it. "Tohuimon, In-Training stage panda Digimon."

"Stating the obvious, much," James muttered. Tohuimon was ignoring them, eyeing Frankie's discarded sandwich with interest.

"Her attack is to pull a bamboo stick out and hit people with it," Frankie concluded. She smirked. "I like the sound of that."

Siberimon approached Tohuimon curiously. "And you belong to whom?"

"Reyez," Tohuimon said quickly. Eva cast a quick glance at Frankie, who dropped her D-Touch. "But enough, you're Digimon! I knew I smelled Digimon and I did and you're here, and there are four of you!" Tohuimon babbled excitedly. "I knew it, I knew I was right!" She turned on the spot and bounced, waving to Reyez who was about twenty paces away. "They're Digimon! I told you!"

"Easy there small stuff," Tom said, nervously eyeing the park. Though there was no one in especially close vicinity, the shouting of the small Digimon could easily attract attention.

"That's enough." Reyez's voice was gruff and he was extremely pissed. He avoided looking at Frankie, instead he focused on James. "Small world."

"That it is," James replied.

"You two know each other?" Eva questioned.

James nodded. "Vaguely. We work for the same building company."

Siberimon growled. "Not the only person he knows here." As Tigrimon, he had not liked Reyez much when he and Frankie had dated. And as Siberimon, his opinion had not changed at all.

"Enough, Siberimon," Frankie said sharply.

"Kept him quiet," Reyez said off-handedly.

James and Tom looked at Eva who mouthed 'exes' at them. They both decided to keep out of what could easily turn into a very awkward spat.

"Need to know basis. And you, didn't need to know," Frankie retorted, with an eye-roll and glance at her nails. "Well you've come and disturbed a perfectly nice evening, you can leave now."

"No way," Tohuimon interjected. "We're part of the team now."

"Only if you have one of these," Siberimon picked up Frankie's discarded D-Touch and showed it to both Tohuimon and Reyez. "Unless you have one, I suggest you scoot."

"No one asked yo-"

"Quiet!" Odocomon's voice snapped, stopping the argument mid-flow. Her eyes were directed upwards to where the street lights were flickering wildly. Across the street, in apartments and office buildings, the inside lights were flickering, and channels switched uncontrollably.

"Oh no," Eva muttered. She was up on her feet, Irbimon at her side a moment later. Tom, Frankie, and James all joined her, on their feet with their Digimon at their sides. Reyez looked confused.

"What?"

"Just stay close," Tom instructed. The ten of them looked around wildly for a sign of the impending Digimon attack. There was a sharp wind, which sent them all shivering and made their breath turn to steam in the air.

"Icy Shower!" The call came from above them, and they were bombarded by sharp icicle shards, cutting into clothing and skin. The group scattered, though they still kept their eyes on the sky.

"Whack!" Tohuimon pulled out her giant bamboo stick again and began swatting the shards of ice away from Reyez as they ran. She hit one shard straight back the way it came as if it were a baseball pitch. There was a cry of anguish and the ice stopped. The sky cleared and the attacker was visible.

"Holy…"

"Shit," Tom finished Eva's sentence.

Descending from the sky was a Digimon in a humanoid shape, though the proportions were all wrong. The torso was small and robust, while the legs were impossibly long and stick-like. The arms were the same: impossibly skinny, and the hands reached down to its ankles. Its fingers were like spikes. It was white in color and protruding from its back were huge, ripped, badly kept wings. Emblazoned on its chest there was a purple bat symbol, and from a white hood, red glowing eyes were visible.

Eva's hands were shaking while she retrieved her D-Touch. The Digimon came up on hologram. "IceDevimon, Champion level. Virus Digimon. Part of the Nightmare Soldiers family. His attacks are ice based, and he is known for delighting in the pain he deals others."

A moment passed where the Digimon and humans stared at their new foe and he stared straight back. Then, without warning and without a sound, his wings opened and he was swooping down to the ground towards Frankie, Siberimon, James, and Odocomon. "Frost Claw!"

"Duck!" Siberimon ordered, shoving Frankie out of the way of the clawed fingers that cut too close to her arm and shoulder. James dodged out of the way, pulling Odocomon with him. IceDevimon turned his attention to Tom, Eva, and Reyez all huddled together – their Digimon, including the small Tohuimon, guarding them.

Irbimon hissed savagely, his claws fully flexed from his paws. Poemon nervously followed his lead, trying to look intimidating while hovering in front of Tom.

"Biting Ice!" Irbimon called, his claws glowing and shooting a cloud of arrow-like ice shards at IceDevimon.

"Nevermore!" Poemon followed. She flew a few feet and disappeared in a puff of smoke, she appeared again, inches in front of the white Digimon's face and she slashed with her claws.

IceDevimon released a guttural laugh, swatting Poemon away with a huge hand and blocking Irbimon's arrowheads with his other. "My turn to play," he taunted. "Zero Freeze!" The glow of his red eyes increased and from them beams of ice appeared, aiming for Eva and Tom.

"No!"

"Tom!" Poemon pushed the blond out of the way with her wings, her tail and feet being caught by the beam of ice. She yelled out in pain. Irbimon was able to drag Eva onto the floor away from the dangerous beams before she was hit. Tohuimon had her bamboo stick out from her back and was reflecting the glow with it, though the strain of doing so showed on her face, and she was losing her grip.

"What are you doing?!" Reyez shouted. "Let it go, he's going to kill you."

"It's my job to protect you! Don't you get that?!" Tohuimon shouted back. "Nnn…. get away from here with the others!"

"Not without you!"

"Frost Claw!" IceDevimon swooped again, his claws aiming for Reyez. Tohuimon leapt up from the floor with her stick, but was knocked aside by his wings. Reyez stumbled, frozen by fear.

"Reyez!"

Both Reyez and Tohuimon were engulfed with a blue light. Reyez felt for his phone in his pocket as it vibrated. He could see it transforming in front of his eyes, becoming a D-Touch like Frankie's, only blue.

"Tohuimon, over-clock evolve to…" The small panda's voice came from within the blue glow. IceDevimon's attack had come to a premature end as he was blinded by the light. Tohuimon grew in height, her limbs becoming longer. Her ears became more pronounced, and gold hoop earrings sprouted from them. Around her waist she gained a belt, and on her right wrist a gold bangle. Her chest became fluffier. Her eyes opened, displaying an alarmingly bright blue color, embedded in typical black panda face circles. "Ailurmon!"

IceDevimon smirked at the newly evolved Digimon and flew towards her.

"Borealis Stream!" Pink beams came from behind him, hitting him in the head.

"Hurricane Slasher!" And Siberimon's attack followed, hitting the same place as Odocomon's attack. Ailurmon inhaled and clenched her fists.

"Claw…. Tremor!" she bellowed. She leapt up from the ground onto IceDevimon's shoulders. Quicker than could be seen, she raced around his head, landing hard punches and kicks into his face and skull. She grabbed hold of the long horns sticking out of his head and started spinning at a high speed, rising up into the sky until she turned around and started to fall down to the ground, dragging IceDevimon through the air.

Mere feet from the ground IceDevimon opened his wings to prevent himself from hitting the ground. Ailurmon lost her grip and fell to the grass below. She growled, getting to her feet.

Odocomon was charging a ball of pink energy in her mouth as IceDevimon examined both James and Frankie, separate from the other three. Easier to pick off.

"Zero Freeze!" More icicles shot out of his wings, blinding Odocomon and Siberimon into being unable to attack.

"Stay together, he'll try to drive us apart!" Siberimon commanded. James grabbed Frankie's hand in his own tightly.

"Borealis Stream!" There was a misty pink light in among the icicles that impacted IceDevimon's shoulder. He yelped. He was flying towards the four quickly, arms outstretched. He knocked the Digimon aside and easily split Frankie and James apart as he yelled: "Frozen Claw!"

Frankie was knocked to the left, hitting her head on a stone on the ground. Siberimon raced to her side. Odocomon stood in front of James, standing her ground as IceDevimon sized them both up as easy prey.

"You will not touch him," Odocomon stated defiantly.

IceDevimon laughed low in his belly. "Your feeble attacks are nothing against my power! Zero Freeze!" Again the red of his eyes glowed brighter, and from them two beams of freezing strength shot down at James. Odocomon reared, her body was engulfed in a purple haze, deflecting the attack.

"Odocomon, over-clock evolve to…" Her form grew massively, her legs and body stretched. Her small tail became a larger tuft. The spots on her back moved around to her thighs. Four silver rings formed around her front legs, and tufts of purple fur grew from the knees of her back legs. Her antlers became formidable. Dozens of prongs, each decorated with an orb of purple, adorned her head. "Rusdramon!" The light faded.

IceDevimon sized up his new opponent, who had her head low and was pawing the ground. They flew at each other with speed, Rusdramon's antlers down, ready to pierce IceDevimon's body, while his hands were outstretched holding her back. She snorted.

"Amethyst Chains!" The orbs on her antlers appeared to glow a rich purple color, and from them sprang chains of light, which shot forward and wrapped around IceDevimon. One around his neck, two more around his arms and legs, and another around his waist. She reared onto her back legs as the chains tightened around the white form in front of her. He was yelling out, the light beginning to burn his skin. She thrust her head down and IceDevimon crashed into the ground.

Ailurmon raced forward. "Terra Shaker!" She punched the ground where she stood with her paw, and reached down through it. With incredible strength she lifted the ground up from where IceDevimon crashed, and tossed it skywards. Rusdramon's chains dissipated, but the orbs on her antlers glowed again, this time joined by the three spheres lining each ear.

"Grand Cross!" She moved her head in the crucifix symbol, shown by the trail of mauve light it left, and sent it flying at the plummeting earth. It engulfed the ground and IceDevimon with it, who released an agonized scream.

From the sky, soil fell, and a trail of data came down, floating into James' D-Touch. The screen flashed with 'Data Saved' and James fell back onto his behind.

Poemon struggled as the ice encasing her tail and legs melted from her. She was visibly relieved by it. Tom carried her with him over to James, who was having his hair nuzzled affectionately by the huge deer. Eva ran across to Frankie who, was slowly beginning to wake up.

"Oh… man."

"Are you okay?" Siberimon asked, his expression extremely worried, and his voice a quivering mass of concern.

Frankie smiled a little. "Yeah… I think." She looked around for their attacker. "We got him?"

"We got him," Eva confirmed. She helped Frankie to her feet. Siberimon stood at her side, looking at her worriedly.

Reyez kept his distance slightly from the group as they all reconvened. He stared at D-Touch in his hand, and at Ailurmon who stood at his side, leaning on one hip.

"So… Ailurmon, huh?"

"Yep." She turned to look up at him, replying with a grin. "Wanna go join the others?"

Reyez was hesitant. "Uh…"

"Come on." Ailurmon grabbed his pant leg and started walking; obviously her determination did not leave with this form. Reyez followed, and shoved the D-Touch into his pocket. Once they were nearer to the group, Ailurmon cleared her throat. "I told you, we're part of the team now."

"I guess," Reyez added with a shrug, pulling out a cigarette from his pocket.

Frankie, now preoccupied with her aching head, said nothing. She simply looked from Eva to Siberimon.

Tom sighed and looked around the playing field. There was a huge hole where Ailurmon had thrown IceDevimon in the air, and a lot of grass had been upturned by his attacks, and where Rusdramon had pawed the ground. "I guess that means football season is off."


	4. Episode Four: Dazed In The Maze

Frankie crossed one thigh over the other. She yawned slightly, covering her mouth to quiet it down a little. Her head was still pounding from the fight with IceDevimon, and even the strongest over-the-counter medications weren't making it go away any faster. She could still feel the bump she had sustained through her hair. If she happened to brush it with her fingers, she winced every time.

Lecture hall was finally back in session since the haywire breakdown from last time, and it was just as boring as it always was. Presentations that hadn't been completed or had been ended prematurely were back in full swing. Luckily for Frankie, she had completed hers already. But she was still falling asleep; it didn't help that the teacher had a very monotone voice when he talked. Not even the cute guys sitting around her, also paying half attention, could keep her mind from wandering. Normally she would have had Tigrimon to keep her amused from the insides of her purse. Now, though, Siberimon was data in her D-Touch.

"Very good Ms. Nash… Next we'll have…" The Professor read down his list of the students sitting in the amphitheatre-style room. One end was a stage-like area, with a podium, screen and projector. Opposite this were seats arranged in tiers. "Ms… Piper Swift."

"Coming!" Frankie glanced across the room and saw a flash of platinum blonde bouncing down the steps. That _was _what she did; she didn't run, she bounced down the stairs. It was odd. The class livened up a little as Piper set up the laptop, projector, and composed herself before she began her presentation.

She fidgeted around the podium as she spoke out to the restless class. No one seemed to be paying much attention, except the tutor. Frankie perched her head on a fist and looked at the clock above the screen. Not long to go.

"… From the results seen here, we can see the positive effects of the amyloidal particles as they attach themselves to the deteriorating cells of the suffering dogs. While this is not a cure of cell deterioration, it does help, and slows down the symptom, prolonging and improving the life of a suffering animal… Tests have shown that this cell treatment can extend the life up to five years, nullifying the illness that affects pure breeds. The breakdown of…"

Piper paused mid-flow. She seemed frozen at the podium, like she had suddenly come over with intense stage fright. Frankie looked at her, and glanced at where her gaze was fixed. Her desk, where she had been sitting. Her bag was on the top of the desk, left haphazardly strewn across her work and papers.

"Miss Swift?" the tutor prompted gently from his seat.

"Of… uh…"

Frankie felt a vibration against her leg and reached into the pocket of her skinny jeans. She had managed to set her D-Touch to silent, so its constant bleeping didn't disturb class and get her in trouble. But now, looking it at, it was going haywire. The screen was flashing black and orange, and the normal icon she had on-screen of Siberimon was moving its head in the direction of Piper's desk.

Frankie looked over again. The bag was moving, only slightly, but enough for it to be noticeable from the distance Frankie was to it. Something disappeared inside of the backpack, and then it stopped moving again. The D-Touch continued to flash. Unable to do anything about it now, Frankie shoved it in her bag and turned her attention back to the front of the room. Piper was speaking again, but had lost her line of thought and now didn't appear to possess the same conviction and confidence as before.

"Ms. Swift, are you all right? You've gone pale." The tutor was walking towards the podium. Piper was sweeping her hands back through her hair every few seconds, and kept glancing at the papers she had in front of her, presumably where her notes were kept.

"I uh…" She faltered, stepped backwards, and tripped on her feet, tumbling back and landing on her behind with a thud. Snickers echoed around the auditorium. Frankie frowned. Something had obviously spooked her, and judging by the way the D-Touch was reacting, she was willing to bet it was some kind of Digimon interference. Though, no other electronic devices had malfunctioned. All the clocks were still right. The projector had not imploded, and everything was up and running – so it couldn't have been the normal Digimon activity Frankie had become so quickly used to. The activity which would drag her out of class, Siberimon out of the D-Touch, and into a fight.

A fight she personally wanted to avoid for the moment, at least until her head was no longer throbbing.

She noticed Piper returning to her seat and slumping there, placing her bag on the floor after removing a bottle of water, taking a drink, and then leaning forward on the desktop, her hair splaying everywhere. Another student began their presentation about further molecular chemistry. This was a subject Frankie had to take to make up credits in her course; it was not something she enjoyed. Retrieving a packet of headache pills from her purse, she slipped out of her seat unnoticed and crossed to Piper, squatting down by her desk.

"Hiiii~ you wouldn't mind lettin' me have some of your water would you? I can't swallow pills without it." Frankie smiled as nicely as possible and held the tablets out in the palm of her hand for effect. Piper lifted her head from the desk and looked out from underneath a mess of blonde. She looked at Frankie, then the pills, and heaved her bag off the floor.

"They're more like placebos. They won't really do you much good, that brand," Piper explained. She was fishing around in the front pocket of the bag, and handed Frankie a cardboard packet when she had found what she was looking for. "These are better. A little chalky, but they work fast, and it's no 'pharmacy' jargon. It's actually going to help."

Taken slightly aback, Frankie took the packet. "Thanks…" She kept an eye on the bag, watching for movement as she took two pills, which were hellish to swallow, and downed half the bottle of water, which she then passed back to Piper. "So like," Frankie settled on the floor by Piper's desk and spoke in a hushed tone, "what happened up there?" She indicated to the podium.

"Oh." Piper visibly blushed. "You ever have those moments when you walk into a room and forget why you walked in there?" Frankie nodded. "I had that moment, only it was on stage, and I couldn't remember why I was there." She smiled a little, and pushed her hair off her face. "You're Frankie, aren't you? I see you around sometimes."

"My reputation precedes me," Frankie smirked. "Yeah. Frankie Pitel." She stuck out a well manicured hand and Piper shook it.

"Piper Swift."

"Like the singer?"

Piper rolled her eyes a little. "Something like that."

Frankie grinned; the blonde seemed okay. "So like, are you free after class? I want to talk to you about something."

An eyebrow quirked on Piper's face. "About…?"

"It's a bit of a big deal, can't talk about it here."

"I see." Piper looked skeptical and pursed her lips for a moment. "Not this evening. I have a study group at the café, you know, Excellent Bean. But I can probably do tomorrow."

"Sounds good to me," Frankie smiled widely. The bell rang, signaling the end of class and the end of the day for the academics. Piper looked visibly relieved. She heaved her backpack onto her back and quickly bid Frankie goodbye. Frankie left at her own pace after collecting her purse and bag from her seat.

* * *

Excellent Bean was heaving as it usually was when normal classes let out. Piper had headed straight there after the disaster that had been her presentation. She was mortified. The first time she'd tried to present, the projector had died and class had been cancelled. Second time, she chokes. There was something trying hard to not let her present her findings. And considering how long she had spent preparing the talk she was doing, and had been researching, it was both annoying and disheartening all at the same time.

She was not impressed.

As she sat in the café, boredly poking the tea bag in her mug. She mused whether to finish the tea and head home, or actually get some more work done. She found it easier to work in a noisy, busy environment like the café. At home, at the moment, it was just her. Her parents were both away on business, and her brother Jesse had recently moved in with friends across town. The house was too quiet, even with the radio or television on for company.

Resting her chin in her hand, Piper scanned the café for anyone she recognized. She kind of wished now she hadn't turned down Frankie's offer of discussing _something_ after class. She didn't really have study group, as most of her friends had ditched their studying in favor of the beach and sunbathing. Seeing no one, Piper shifted herself and looked down at the book in front of her.

The book talked about the anatomy of different animals. To be a vet, which was Piper's hope when she finished college, it was necessary to know the ins-and-outs of various animals, big and small. At the moment, her classes were focusing on the anatomy of horses, so the page she was on showed the details of a horse's digestive system in graphic detail. The class would be witnessing the dissection of this particular animal in three weeks time, and Piper wanted to be sure she knew what the professor was talking about.

"Piper."

Piper sighed, reading over the paragraph she had been reading for about fifteen minutes; it wasn't sinking in. "Piper." She flipped the page. "Piper!" There was a bounce on her lap and then a bang on the underside of the table that sent tea slopping over the lip of her mug.

"What?" Piper glanced down at the occupant of her lap. A chestnut ball of fur, with big green eyes staring up at her. A grey nose and whiskers. Wrapped around it was its tail, with two silver rings around it. "Tiberimon, you know you have to behave," Piper scolded.

An indignant look crossed the small Digimon's face and he grumbled quietly, "I thought you might like to know…" he paused and Piper waited. "Actually no, I won't tell you."

Piper rolled her eyes. "Please?" she said, as patiently as possible. She was used to Tiberimon acting like this. He thought it was funny, but she sometimes found it very draining. Tiberimon shuffled on her lap and turned away from her. Piper sighed, leaning back in her chair. She glanced quickly around to confirm the coast was clear. With the index finger of her right hand she began to scratch Tiberimon behind the ear, a favorite spot for him, and his main weakness when he was being difficult like this. Almost immediately, he started making a soft growling sound, like a purr, but not quite, and his ears relaxed.

"I was gonna say," Tiberimon said finally, "there's a boy over there lookin'." Piper was alarmed suddenly and looked up, scanning the tables around her. People were milling about, talking to friends and crossing to tables, going up stairs, to the bathroom, and walking to and from the service queue. Though now Tiberimon had mentioned it, she could feel it. The feeling of being watched.

"Come on, we should get going anyway," Piper muttered. She bent and lifted her backpack onto the table, avoiding the spilled tea. Opening it up wide enough, she lifted Tiberimon off her lap and gently placed him in the backpack, before zipping it up half way and getting to her feet. She hooked the bag around one shoulder and rose from her chair, making a bee-line for the door. She knocked a chair with her hip and faltered back, apologizing profusely.

"Sorry! I'm so sorry! Sorry! Are you okay? Did you spill anything? I can buy you another if you-"

"It's fine, no harm done." The male voice caused Piper to stop flustering. She had bumped into the seat of a blond young man, sitting with a pretty plum haired girl.

"Oh, okay. I'm sorry!" Piper apologized again and dashed out of the shop.

Tom sat back in his chair, leaning it on its back legs. Eva was watching Piper's back disappear from view through the window. They were waiting for Frankie to arrive. And maybe Reyez. James was unable to meet with them today, having to go straight to the restaurant from the building site for work.

He had been watching Piper surreptitiously since Eva had pointed out the ball of fur she had put on her lap when she had originally sat down. Both his D-Touch and hers had started bleeping quickly, and the screen flashing. Though, because of no mechanical malfunctions taking place, they had assumed it was something different, and not an attacking Digimon. It was beginning to appear their assumptions may have been correct.

Both were sure that the fur ball had been a Digimon of some description. It moved independently, it was too big to be a cuddly toy, and what would a twenty-something be doing with a cuddly toy in their backpack anyway? Plus, Piper had been speaking to it directly, and looking right at it.

"You scared her," Eva commented primly. She checked the time on her D-Touch, Frankie was running late.

"She was pretty flustered. I wonder if she saw me looking," Tom commented. He let his chair legs back to the floor with a bang. "Still, if you're going to have a Digimon out on show…"

"Frankie manages it," Eva retorted with a smirk, "she says that Siberimon is her brother in a costume. I think it's a clever idea."

Tom pursed his lips for a moment. "It's a nice idea, but I dunno if it's the cleverest thing in the world. What if someone asked to see what her 'brother' looked like under the 'costume'. She'd be kind of screwed then."

"Eh," Eva shrugged, "I'm sure Frankie could talk… or flirt her way out of it." Tom laughed briefly, rubbing his hand over his chin. His goatee was getting a little too long for his liking; he would have to have a shave sometime soon. "Have to wonder if it was a Digimon though."

"You have another explanation for the D-Touches reacting the way they did?"

Eva shrugged. "Well… no. I'm just saying, we've dealt with so much Digimon-related activity lately, it's like we're seeing Digimon everywhere."

"I'm pretty sure it was a Digimon," Tom replied. "What would you say it was, otherwise?"

Again, Eva shrugged and looked out of the window; she didn't have an answer for that. There wasn't really another explanation for what could have been on the girl's lap. It spoke, both she and Tom had seen its mouth move, though hadn't heard it speaking. And why else would she have gotten so crazy about it, if it wasn't something she wanted to hide?

"Problem?" Eva opened her mouth to speak when Frankie's voice hit her ears. The other girl pulled out a chair to sit down, crossing one leg over the other.

"No, not a problem." Tom explained what they had seen. The possible Digimon sighting, how it had spoken, and the blonde girl had spoken directly to it. Frankie listened intently, turning her D-Touch over in her hands as his explanation concluded. "So what do you think? Digimon or something else?"

"Sounds Digimon related," Frankie confirmed. "My D-Touch went crazy in class today, luckily I had it on silent and it didn't get any attention to me, but it was all to do with this girl in my class, Piper Swift. I'm going to meet her tomorrow."

"Why?" Eva asked quickly.

"To see if she knows anything about Digimon…" explained Frankie, glancing slowly at Tom in surprise.

"Don't you think that's a little presumptuous?" Eva queried. Frankie looked confused. "Well – what if it isn't a Digimon and you mention them, and let the cat out of the bag, so-to-speak? I mean, if you ask her outright if she has a Digimon and she says no, but is then curious as to why – what'll you do then?"

"Just say I was mistaken. It's not a big deal," replied Frankie calmly, with a smile.

"I think it's risky, that's all," Eva muttered. "I think the less people who know about them, the better."

Frankie sighed and patted Eva's arm. "I'm not wrong. It's no co-inky-dink that your D-Touches reacted to her the same way mine did. And the same way James' reacted to Reyez, remember what he told us?"

Eva shifted uncomfortably. "I guess."

"So, nothing to worry about." Frankie grinned.

"Which reminds me, where is Reyez?" Tom was looking around the café for the newest addition to their team, who had been barely seen and heard from, unless contacted by someone else, since the fight with IceDevimon. "He should be here by now."

"He's probably sleeping," Frankie said boredly, she examined her fingernails and stood up quickly. "Who wants coffee?"

* * *

Reyez sat on the top of the backrest of a bench in the community park not too far from his house. He coughed as a great deal of smoke came from his mouth, granted, he inhaled the smoke once again through his nose. He amused himself with the trick before just exhaling the smoke again. His ear-buds were attached to the mp3 player clipped to the pocket of his jeans.

Ailurmon had made herself comfortable on the bench, lying down with her paws behind her head, eyes closed, listening to the ambient sound of the inner city and the incoherent lyrics and bass blasting from Reyez's small headphones.

Reyez knew he had things to do today, but he didn't want to do them. Nothing was over the top important that he just _had_ to get done. He simply didn't care. After work and after paying a bill for his sister, everything had become nothing but a distant memory in the smoke exhaling from his body.

His sister and her fiance decided to stay in today, which meant he was staying out. He knew he had some sort of meeting with Frankie and the others, but he didn't really feel like sitting there with the girl that seemed to scold him for something that she refused to explain to him.

A gust of wind shifted through, Reyez could feel the breeze through his fitted white and red baseball shirt, with sleeves stopping at elbow length. The chain at the side of his camouflage shorts moved when he moved, a chill coming over his body.

Ailurmon opened one eye, looking around slightly before relaxing again.

Minutes after the first gust, another came through, followed by a fog rolling in. It was odd; on this side of town, it never randomly fogged. There was no call for bad weather of any kind, and the fog sure was mighty thick.

Reyez slowly removed himself from the bench, unable to see more than two feet in front of him. Ailurmon stood next to Reyez, leaning on one hip with her arms crossed. She was confused, but alert.

There was a slight shift in the ground under them. Reyez lifted a food slightly out of alertness, but stood almost perfectly still. The fog around them started to move but was clearing away. Once the fog had cleared, the two were taken aback by the change of scenery.

Instead of being in the park they once were, they were both in a garden. More so, a hedge maze garden.

"Ah… shit," Reyez cursed, licking his lips and adjusting the black fitted cap on his head, lifting it up and scratching the side of his noggin out of confusion.

"…Yeap." Ailurmon replied.

The hedges around them rose for a good seven feet, obscuring all vision of their surroundings. Even looking into the distance, it was a trial to see the tall buildings that had been around the park. Ailurmon attempted clambering up the branches several times, but they weren't strong enough to hold her weight, so each time a branch gave way and she landed on the ground, and would brush the dirt off her fur with growing aggravation.

"Whelp, might as well start walking," Reyez said and started down one path. Ailurmon ran ahead, and stood in front of him.

"I don't think that's such a bright idea, Rey. I think we should stay here." She held her arms out in a further attempt to block him from moving. Reyez cocked an eyebrow.

"Why?"

"Uh – because this is a suspicious maze and there could be stuff in here wanting to kill you, maybe? Stuff that I'm not strong enough to defeat. Never mind that we don't know how big this maze is. We could get stuck for life."

"Nah." Reyez shrugged. "I remember reading that with mazes, the trick is to always turn left." He tapped his forehead in a 'trust me on this' way and started walking again.

"Why don't you contact the others?" Ailurmon suggested, running ahead and standing in front of her partner again. Reyez muttered something inaudible and shoved his hand in his pocket. He withdrew the blue D-Touch, glanced at it and shoved it back, deep into his pocket.

"No reception." He started off. "Let's go."

She was unconvinced, but didn't want to lose Reyez in this unfamiliar place, so she ran to his side and caught onto his walking pace, leisurely and without urgency. The surroundings were, as Ailurmon had mentioned, unfamiliar, and had appeared without warning. That automatically put her on edge. However, Reyez's blasé attitude towards this strange occurrence caused further anxiety. She couldn't evolve yet, she could fight and would, tooth and nail, to protect him. But there was only so much she could do in this form. She wished there was back up in the form of the others.

They walked, paces matched for some time, though Reyez rarely checked his D-Touch to see how much time had passed. Many roads were straight with one corner, or with two possible paths to take. Only when they came to dead ends did Reyez show any irritation. Though the further they went, the more random and sudden the turns became, and several times, Reyez tripped on risen roots from the hedges.

Reyez swatted the dirt from his all black low top Adidas Shell-toes, caused from where he had tripped once again. He did this every time; it was wearing on Ailurmon's nerves.

"Will you stop doing that?!" Ailurmon grunted in aggravation.

"I paid over 70 bucks for these; I don't like gettin' my shoes dirty."

Ailurmon simply rolled her eyes and continued to walk. She understood that Reyez had different types of OCDs but some of them, to her, were just ridiculous.

As they continued to walk, both had begun noticing different types of flowers decorating the hedges. The hedge walls of the maze were high, high enough to need a ladder to look over them. Climbing them was nearly impossible, since Ailurmon had tried already.

They had already been walking for a good half an hour and Reyez's high was coming down. He was getting annoyed and frustrated with not finding a way out, or at least running into another living species. Ailurmon kept quiet, but her irritation was feeding off Reyez's.

"Maybe you really should call the others, like, now." Ailurmon looked up to him. Reyez turned the corner around a hedge closing his eyes.

"Why would I do that, again?" he simply commented back, waving off Ailurmon's suggestion.

"I'm just saying…we are a team."

"Yeah," Reyez chuckled, Ailurmon glared. She hated being mocked.

"Don't get mad at me because you have a problem with affection," she commented. "There's nothing wrong with asking for help."

Reyez scoffed. "Say what?" He stopped walking. Ailurmon walked a little ways before turning around to face him, her arms folded.

"You have a problem with affection. You have a problem with displaying emotions. You're a smoking, sleeping, eating robot. I'd dump you too."

It was as if invisible lightning struck between the two.

Reyez and Ailurmon glared at each other with intense hatred. Granted, most of this was due to their irritation of being lost, but some personal feelings we're getting involved in the mix.

"Oh, ok. Well. Fuck you too," Reyez grunted, turning and walking a different path in the maze.

"…You can't go alone! Reyez!" Ailurmon snapped out of her mood and ran behind him. When she had turned the corner of the path he had taken, Reyez was already gone. She growled softly to herself – perhaps that had been a little below the belt, but it was true. He didn't connect with anyone, didn't seem to want to half the time. But now they were part of a team, and they had to connect; they had to accept help, and feel like it was okay to ask for help when it mattered. Like now.

Huffing, Ailurmon kicked the ground and started walking again, following the path Reyez had disappeared down and taking a right turn at the end, hoping it was the same route.

* * *

Piper had agreed to meet Frankie outside Excellent Bean, and from there, they would go to another café that Frankie knew that she preferred. Piper was early. She checked the time on her phone, which showed she had about ten minutes before Frankie was due to arrive. The coffee shop was quiet, most classes hadn't let out yet, and it was after the lunchtime rush. Piper had helped herself to a flapjack from the shop, and decided to eat it on the curb. She sat down, her backpack in her lap, and munched quietly while unzipping her bag.

Tiberimon looked up at her from inside the bag with big green eyes, blinking. He looked a little dazed, being in the bag so long, but happy to see Piper, and more so to see the half of a flapjack she offered him.

"Can I come out?" he asked. Piper checked the street. It was quiet, and the cars going by would be going too fast to spot Tiberimon. She nodded and moved the bag to her side, tipping it over carefully. Tiberimon rolled out and then moved to sit in Piper's lap. She gave him the half flapjack and leaned back, enjoying the sunshine for now.

She had finally been able to present her stupid talk, so that was over. She hated public speaking; having to give it three times had been three times too many. But it was over, she had gotten a good mark, and she could get back to her normal studies now.

"Hey there, Blondie!" Piper's eyes jammed open, hearing Frankie's voice above her. She shot forward, leaning on Tiberimon.

"H-hey!" she responded breathlessly. "Uh, you're early!"

"I got out of class." Frankie grinned and sat herself down on the curb next to Piper, who was trying to get her backpack and stuff Tiberimon back inside; without much success, as Tiberimon was being awkward, not wanting to go back in. "So like…" Frankie paused briefly, examining her fingernails while casually watching Piper trying to stuff what Frankie was now sure was a Digimon, back into her bag, "How were your classes today?" She decided not to mention the creature yet, she had obviously scared Piper out of her wits by appearing early.

"Oh… you know. Fine." Piper cleared her throat and zipped up her backpack. Tiberimon was safely away in the bag, she could relax now – at least she could try. "They were pretty boring… though biology was interesting today. We were dissecting a sheep's eye."

"Ew," Frankie replied, making a face. "I'm not a big fan of dissection. It's not a big thing necessary for my preferred vocation."

"Oh." Piper got to her feet. "Sorry – I just assumed that we had all the same classes. What are you hoping to achieve?"

"I wanna break into the fashion industry," Frankie explained. Piper cast a quick look over Frankie's ensemble: a beret, pink shirt off one shoulder, impossibly short-shorts and stiletto heels.

"I'm sure you'd be a hit," commented Piper. The two girls were walking away from the coffee shop now, Frankie sashaying a few steps in front of Piper. "You seem to be good at turning heads."

"It comes a bit too naturally at times," Frankie grinned, tossing her hair over one shoulder, "but that's me in a nutshell. You should let me take you shopping sometime."

Piper blinked. "That's a bit sudden. I don't know you that well." She meant it to come out in a casual way, like she was making a simple point. But Frankie cast her a glance as they turned a corner that Piper found unreadable.

"I'm pretty sure we'll be spending more time together." Frankie had stopped, and Piper too now. She was faced with Frankie, and two other young adults: a blond man, and a plum haired girl. Though she was more distracted by the large black bird, and the two grayish cats standing in front of them all.

"What… is this?" Piper asked, taking a tentative step back.

"Now, don't panic. I'm Eva and this is Tom." The plum haired girl stepped towards her. "We have reason to believe you… you have a Digimon – like we do. This is Irbimon. And Poemon, and Siberimon."

For a moment, Piper was dumbstruck, her mouth open slightly as the three Digimon moved forward to show themselves better. In her bag, Tiberimon shuffled and grunted with irritation, Piper tried to ignore it.

"I… you… this. You've got the wrong girl." Piper shook her head, backing up several more steps.

Tom spoke this time, "I don't think we do." He held a green item out to Piper that was bleeping regularly. "This is a D-Touch. Normally it doesn't react like this. But it does to you… it wouldn't unless there was a reason. And I saw a Digimon on your lap. I'm pretty certain of it."

Still unsure, Piper fished into her jean pocket and withdrew a device similar to the one Tom held out to her, only hers was yellow. Her cell phone had transformed into this several nights ago as she had studied. Piper hadn't mentioned it, and aside from the new shape, the phone still did what it normally did. Piper bit her bottom lip as she slipped her bag from her shoulder and lightly placed it on the floor. After unzipping it, she lifted Tiberimon out, holding him securely in her arms. Large green eyes blinked in the light and took in the humans and Digimon.

"Oh. Digimon," Tiberimon muttered.

"This… is Tiberimon," Piper introduced him. "I uhm… I didn't know…"

"Neither did we," Frankie advised, "until recently. There are two more of us, James and Odocomon. And Reyez and Ailurmon."

"Who aren't around right now," Eva added. "We're going to head off and meet… Reyez… now…" she trailed, feeling a shiver rise up her back. The Digimon were on alert immediately, Tiberimon hopping down to the ground where the Rookies all stood. Surrounding the group of four was a thick mist, obscuring the view, so that only outlines of each could be seen.

"What's happening?" Frankie's voice came out through the mist.

"No idea," Siberimon murmured by her side. "Everyone stay still and stay close. This doesn't smell right."

It was a few minutes later that the mist lifted enough for things to be seen more clearly. Around the group, walls of hedges had risen, seemingly from nowhere. The buildings, roads and street lights that had been nearby were now all gone, leaving them alone in the hedge. With only one exit.

"…Well – this is a positive start," Tiberimon said sarcastically.

* * *

Ailurmon kept her hands planted on her belt, continuing to walk the maze alone.

"Oh c'mon Reyez! Don't be such a wimp about it!" she semi-yelled out. She wished the Digimon were given one of those D-Touches so they could find their missing humans. She sighed, stopping in her tracks to rest.

Her eyes twitched, getting the feeling of being watched.

The bushes moved and the slight giggle was heard.

Ailurmon rolled her eyes, adjusting her posture. "I don't have time to play games with you." She closed her eyes, lowering her head down.

"Hm? …Hehe!" The sound of a Digimon giggle was heard again, followed by a different pitch of giggles.

"Are you looking for someone?"

"Someone for looking you are?" Two different voiced followed each other.

Two Floramon poked their vibrant pink and green heads from the hedges. One on each side of the irritated and impatient panda.

"Have you seen a human guy around here? He has tattoos on his arms and legs-" Ailurmon was cut off.

"No we haven't."

"Haven't we no."

"Then you are useless to me," Ailurmon said calmly, waving them off and walking ahead.

"Wait!" They both shouted, prompting Ailurmon to turn to look back at them. She noticed they were gone. She turned back around to walk. They were in front of her now; out of the hedges and standing side by side with their flower-like hands behind their backs.

"He may have been taken by our master!"

"Master our by taken been have may he!"

Ailurmon turned to the Floramon to the right of her. "You ever thought about getting that speech impediment fixed?" She turned to the Floramon to the left. "Where is your master?"

The Floramon kept quiet, staring at something that was apparently coming from behind the small panda. Ailurmon felt a presence walking up behind her and quickly turned around.

"Fireball!" shouted a deep voice.

* * *

Frankie stepped over a large root that was protruding from the ground. "What a nice and appropriate time to take a nice walk in a hedge mage while dawning some patent leather pump stilettos," she said sarcastically.

"Do you own even a single pair of sneakers?" Irbimon asked, out of curiosity.

"I own a lot, but ya'know, strange things seem to happen only when I'm wearing heels…"

Siberimon cleared his throat. "With the large amount of footwear in your closet, I don't think it would hurt to lose some."

Eva chimed in, "he has a point Frankie. I mean, I only own a few pair of shoes."

"If by a few you mean the entire colony under our bed, then yes…" Tom chuckled. Poemon, herself, giggled at the sly comeback.

Piper kept herself quiet and off to the side a bit, holding Tiberimon close. Regardless that the others had Digimon just like her, she still didn't know any of them well enough to strike up the conversation like they were having. Even at this most awkward time.

"So…Piper, tell us a little about yourself?" Irbimon and Siberimon ran to both of her sides, walking and staring up at her like curious little children.

"Oh, uhm… I-"

Before Piper could get out a coherent sentence, all of the D-Touches went off at once. Simultaneously, Frankie, Eva, Tom and Piper pulled their D-Touches from their pockets and stared at the digital screen.

A blue dot was blinking.

"Reyez?" Eva looked to Frankie.

Frankie exchanged her glance to Eva. "He must've got pulled in too…"

"Do you think James did as well?" Tom asked.

"His dot isn't blinking… so that means Reyez must be the closest."

"**AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"**

The trio looked up, as Piper had fallen on the ground in a panic. Vines wrapped around her ankles and torso, pressing her arms to her body.

"Piper!" Tiberimon bounced. Piper was jerked into the hedges.

"Hey! GIVE HER BACK! Or I'll-" Before her could finish his threat, a vine came out and wrapped around Tiberimon, pulling him in as well.

Eva turned around to notice that Frankie and Siberimon were gone as well.

"Tom! Everyone-!" Tom, Poemon and Irbimon were gone.

Eva tried to keep calm and not freak out, but standing there wasn't making her a hard target either. Before she could react, she felt a tight grip on her waist, and before she knew it, she was yanked away just like everyone else.

* * *

Eva's eyes fluttered open as she came to. She tried to move but felt herself unable to. Eva raised her body off the ground, only to find herself with her hands behind her back, and tight vines tied to her ankles.

"Whats going on!?" she shouted.

"SILENCE!" a loud deep voice spoke from the hedges.

Eva looked at her surroundings, noticing that they seem to have been at the end of the maze. The hedges were blocked off in a square with a fire pit in the center, to which she found herself too close for comfort.

The others were tied up, on their knees, hands behind their backs and ankles tied as well. They were circling the fiery pit, except for Reyez, who wasn't even tied up, but knocked out. He lay across from her on the other side of the pit and the view of him was enough to get her heart racing with fear.

Tom struggled, trying to release himself from the tough roots, but sighed when it was no use.

The two Floramon kept guard, keeping a close eye on the group.

"What is it that you want?" Tom asked.

The Floramon only giggled.

"We've been watching you for quite some time… you have become a nuisance to our plans…" It was the fire that was speaking. "And now that you are all here, you must be destroyed!" The fire rose high into the air, forming into a humanoid Digimon that appeared to be completely made of fire.

"Meramon is a Flame Digimon that is made of fire and can perform fire attacks. He is capable of destroying Digimon of even higher levels!" one of the Floramon informed.

Meramon landed on the ground, not too far from the kids and the pit. "Now, who will be the first to drop into their fiery grave?" He laughed.

"HA! YOU WISH!" Tiberimon shouted. "Steel Tail!" The small Digimon bounced into the air, turning into a ball spinning towards Meramon, hitting both Floramon who were in the way like a ball in a pinball machine.

Meramon simply backhanded Tiberimon, laughing as the Digimon hit the ground.

Ailurmon smirked as she broke the vines with ease, flipping to her feet.

"Feisty…!" Meramon taunted.

Both Floramon charged towards Tiberimon and Ailurmon. Ailurmon picked up Tiberimon and threw him as if he was a hard ball. She chased behind him.

"Steel Tail!" he shouted, hitting one Floramon in the forehead, once again. That Floramon took the hit and stumbled back, only to instantly get punched by Ailurmon and bursting into data.

"Stamen Rope!" the other Floramon shouted, releasing two parallel vines from its hands. Ailurmon turned quickly to dodge, but Tiberimon jumped in the way, only to be grabbed by both vines.

Tiberimon shouted as the Floramon continued to squeeze.

"N-No! Tiberimon!" Piper tried to free herself. "Stop it!" she yelled at the Floramon.

Like it was a command, a yellow light made itself known in Piper's pocket. Tiberimon's eyes opened wide, his pupils dilating.

"Tiberimon, over-clock evolve to..." The bouncing otter head started to spin at an incredible speed. His body shape extended horizontally, with a long tail slashing and swinging back and forth. Two silver rings became three and more spaced apart, with two more larger rings around the upper part of his short front legs. Blue fur in the design of water decorated his front paws as well, and two blue dots formed under his eyes. "Caesarmon!"

Caesarmon broke free of the vines by twisting his body and landing on his back legs. "Water Strike!" he shouted. The blue fur on his front paws began glowing with a blue light, forming energy in-between them. The energy released itself towards the Floramon, turning into two large fists.

Floramon gasped in pain as the attack hit, turning it into data.

Meramon stood before the two rookie Digimon, both posed and ready to fight.

Ailurmon nodded and jumped back as Caesarmon leaped forward. "Water Strike!" He repeated the attack.

Meramon was hit by the attack but released a fireball towards Caesarmon, who barely dodged.

"Water Strike!" he shouted again, but Meramon dodged. The Champion Digimon ran towards Caesarmon and side kicked him. Caesarmon went flying and hit the hedge wall. Piper shouted in horror, trying to break free to make sure that he was ok.

Ailurmon found herself battling Meramon alone, mostly dodging what he was throwing out.

"Roaring Fire!" Meramon threw his fist, releasing large balls of fire towards the small panda.

She back flipped, dodging just in time.

"Terra Shaker!" Ailurmon punched her fist into the ground, pulling up the earth from her position all the way to where Meramon stood. Meramon smirked and leaped into the air.

"Fireball!" He tossed a series of fireballs.

Ailurmon used the earth she had picked up as a shield, then hurled it towards the flaming humanoid Digimon.

Meramon braced himself, but was still hit, grunting as he was thrown back over the hedges.

Ailurmon didn't take a moment to bask in her victory; she ran to the others and quickly tried to untie the tight vines around their wrists and ankles. She moved quickly, knowing Meramon would be back shortly.

She released Tom first, who helped Eva and Poemon. Piper helped Caesarmon and Frankie after being released, and lastly Irbimon and Siberimon.

Ailurmon ran to Reyez's side, who was still K.O'd from way earlier. She tried to lift the dead weight but she was too short, and would only be dragging him across the ground.

So she slapped him across the face.

"WAKE UP!"

Slap.

"WAKE UP, REYEZ!"

Reyez groaned as he started to come to.

SLAP.

"YOU'RE NOT WAKING UP FAST ENOUGH! MOVE IT, MAGGOT. MOVE MOVE MOVE!" she screamed at him in a militaristic voice. Reyez's eyes snapped open.

SLAP.

"OW."

"Oh."

Reyez rubbed his cheek. "Fuck, I got a headache."

"That's fine and dandy but we have to mo-"

"Magma…BLAST!" Meramon's voice yelled from afar.

The group paused before looking up at the sky. Suddenly, loads and loads of magma rocks began to fall from the sky, striking deep craters into the earth below.

Reyez quickly jumped to his feet and ran with the others through the maze. The group panicked as they ran back into the labyrinth; the magma rocks followed closely, continuing to rain on them.

The rain of magma caught the hedges, lighting them on fire and quickly spreading throughout the entire maze. The hedges were now burning fire walls of death.

Irbimon, who was now leading the group as they ran, tried his best to freeze the fire closest to them to make some of the turns safe to pass. As much as Caesarmon and Siberimon would've loved to help, they feared that they would only fuel and spread the fire.

Reyez tripped over a vine coming out of the ground. Ailurmon stopped immediately to help him up, but the others continued running, not hearing the sound of his thud through the crackling of the burning bushes.

Reyez slowly rose from the ground. His vision was too blurry, he wanted to cough up a lung and the burning bushes were making him high. He laughed.

"Yooo…" Another chuckle.

Ailurmon grabbed his wrist and pulled him. "Not the time!-"

"Fireball!" Meramon tossed yet another fireball. Ailurmon pushed Reyez back onto the ground as she dodged the attack. Meramon proved himself cunning, as he was traveling by fire and was now in front of the two.

Reyez slowly stood up. "Soy alto como el infierno…" He chuckled.

Ailurmon grabbed her head and began shaking it. Meramon walked towards the two slowly, a smirk painted across his stitched face.

"Oh em gee, Oh em gee…" Ailurmon continued to shake her head. "This is just not my week…" She growled and grit her teeth. The closer Meramon came, the hotter she got, the more her anger rose. "Ughhhhhhh…..ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh….!"

"Now it's time to end you both…" Meramon chuckled, forming a fireball to attack. Reyez kept his hands deep in his pockets, staring at Meramon with a look of unconcern. He continued to chuckle.

"UGGGGGGGHHHHHH…I-….I FUCKING HATE YOU!" Ailurmon screamed at Meramon. Meramon was taken aback a bit by the outburst.

Ailurmon crouched low to the ground, growling like a wild animal, then launched towards Meramon with intense fury.

"Càlmate." Reyez pulled out his D-Touch nonchalantly. The device burst into spastic blue light that enveloped Ailurmon mid-air as she was ready to pounce on Meramon, her claws drawn and teeth grit. Her eyes started glowing.

"Ailurmon, over-clock evolve to..." Ailurmon's body twitched into a humanoid figure. Her figure shed itself of fur to reveal beautiful glowing skin underneath. The curves in her body defined themselves more in certain areas, while her legs stretched out longer. Midnight black hair swiftly flowed down her back. Giant green bamboo leaves with a blue hue sprouted from her back under her hair, draped from the side of her body, with her bangle and belt fitting her new body shape. The earrings attached to her ears doubled in size as well as quantity, looped together. Blue lipstick painted itself on her lips while leaves around her right hand formed into an abnormally large claw. "Bambusmon!" She posed.

Not a moment too soon, Bambusmon's fist slammed right in the center of Meramon's face before he could release the fireball. The fire Digimon flew back into the bushes, dispersing with the rest of the fire.

Bambusmon's feet didn't touch the ground; she levitated, keeping her fist tightly closed.

Meramon reformed from the side, launching at her unexpectedly. Bambusmon quickly kicked him off, grabbing him by the hair and flying into the air. Meramon struggled to let himself free but was quickly caught by a vine formed from the center of Bambusmon's leaf like claw. She grabbed the vine and began spinning, causing Meramon to yell loudly.

Her spinning increased in speed until both her and Meramon were nothing but colorful hues of themselves in the air.

Bambusmon released him without warning. Meramon cratered into the ground close to Reyez, who was lighting a cigarette on the nearest bush, unfazed by his surroundings.

Bambusmon, still in the air, aimed the clawed hand towards Meramon on the ground. She clenched her teeth as a beam of light began to form in her palm.

"Great Cannon!" she shouted. The energy from the beam launched her a bit higher in the air. The beam shot downward, surrounded by razor sharp shards of leaves and bamboo pieces.

Meramon's eyes widened as the attack hit him before he could get himself out of the crater. He released a final cry as the blast absorbed him.

Reyez, who was still standing pretty close to the blast, only chuckled as he puffed on his cigarette. "Que chido." He coughed, blowing out smoke. He looked down at his feet, only just noticing that he was merely inches from having been hit with the attack. It didn't affect him any, he chuckled again.

Ailurmon landed on the ground next to Reyez and stretched.

The wild fires of the hedges disappeared as the burning hedges themselves started to disengage into pixels. The fog returned, just as thick as it had come in, and left just moments after, like before.

Reyez and Ailurmon stood there, back in the park where they had started, watching the others run towards them.

The sky was dark, and the stars were sparkling beautifully in the sky. It could've been around 10 PM or so, but no one was sure or cared at this moment.

"Oh my god! Are you two okay!?" Eva asked, checking Reyez over while Irbimon and Poemon did the same for Ailurmon.

Everyone was still in a bit of a panic, an adrenaline rush from almost being burned alive.

Reyez puffed on his cigarette then exhaled. "Peachy."

"When we looked back and didn't see either of you… we stopped and were hoping ya'll would come into the distance…or something…" Frankie's voice was low, trying to mask her full concern.

Ailurmon continued to stretch. "We took care of Meramon. He pissed me off."

"Mhm," Reyez nodded in agreement.

Simultaneous exhales were heard, followed by everyone trying to calm down - not to make the moment awkward, however, it was awkward. Reyez and Ailurmon's lack of concern was very awkward.

"So…" Piper spoke up, looking down at Caesarmon. "Can… we all meet, tomorrow? I'm free…!"

Tom looked at the others, then at Reyez. "Will you show up?"

Reyez shrugged. "I guess." He flicked his cigarette out into the distance.

"Cool. C'mon Poemon. Let's get home. I need a shower…" Tom chuckled and started to walk off. Eva waved goodbye to Piper and Frankie before following close behind.

"I'll see you later…!" Piper smiled, walking in the opposite direction with Caesarmon by her side.

Frankie stood in front of Reyez, with Siberimon looking at the sky. He stared at the full moon in some sort of trance. Ailurmon walked off towards the swing set in the park.

Frankie rubbed her arm as she looked down, and then looked back up at Reyez whose stare wasn't directly on her. "I was worried about you…"

Reyez chuckled. "Yeah… okay."

Frankie was a bit taken aback. "No… Reyez, I really was. I turned around and you weren't there and-"

"Well, Frankie. I would think you'd be use to that by now. According to you, anyways." Reyez shoved his hands in his pockets, looking at her directly in her eyes.

Frankie gasped lightly.

"Yeah… now, if you want to… ya'know… fuck, then… we can do that. Don't try to sweet talk me into a false sense of security." Reyez's words came harsh to Frankie, who only jerked back in offense.

"What the fu-!"

Reyez smiled. "I'm goin' home, I got the munchies. Text it." He turned his back to walk in the direction of his neighborhood, whistling for Ailurmon, who quickly jogged to his side. "Now pick your ego up off the ground before it gets dirty..."

Frankie stood there, mostly in shock… but all the words were familiar and came back to haunt her. Those exact words. She watched as he became nothing more than a speck in the far distance of the streets. She sucked in her breath. "…I'm sorry."


End file.
